Final Farewell ... West Texas provides first ‘real’ job, wonderful friends

This was originally published in the Jan. 18 print edition of the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

For nearly four years, West Texas has been my home, giving me more than I would have ever even imagined when I moved out this way at 18 years old.

I remember driving westbound on Interstate 20, taking a right on US-84 and heading to an unfamiliar place that would later become my favorite place. Most of you wouldn’t say Lubbock is “West Texas,” but humor me, please, because it’s far more west than Dallas-Fort Worth.

My mother sat in the passenger seat and gave me advice along the way. I remember that she told me I’d make the very best friends and meet my soulmate in Lubbock. She insisted she knew me well enough to know I wouldn’t ever want to leave the city. I refused to accept that and assured her I was only there to get my degree, and I’d be back home in Fort Worth when I was finished.

Many of you can guess how this turned out.

I got my degree, like I said I would, but I also made the very best friends and met my soulmate – who is now my husband and the father of my daughter, who we expect to join us in May.

What surprised me most, however, was that she was spot-on when telling me I wouldn’t want to leave. One of the biggest reasons I moved to Midland was so I could stay nearby; Lubbock had truly become my home.

But the end of the week, I will be back in Dallas-Fort Worth to raise my little girl around her family. I’m sad to be leaving Lubbock, my safe place, even further behind.

Looking back now, in the little more than a year I’ve spent here, Midland has given me even more than Lubbock did, and now, I don’t want to leave this city behind, either.

Opportunity met me in this city. I began my first “real job” here, less than a month after graduating. I got married here. I became a mama-to-be here.

As a journalist, the Midland Reporter-Telegram served me as much professionally, as the city of Midland did socially. This newsroom has helped me to become a journalist who can achieve anything she believes she can. I’ve been equipped to report on anything imaginable – and to do so with strength.

I had, unfortunately, covered a major tragedy in the first six months of my career; I covered a strenuous bond election that made national news; I was published in the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, two of the biggest newspapers in the state, at age 22.

I’ve met journalists from CNN, the New York Times, National Geographic and Bloomberg; I spoke with senators, representatives and Gov. Greg Abbott, and I can share a really embarrassing story about the time I met George P. Bush at Brew St. on Garfield.  I was able to network with the most impressive people, and my talents were sculpted and sharpened here.

West Texas has given me everything I am proud of: my college degree; my wonderful group of friends; my loving husband; my (already active) baby girl; my drive and ethics; and my most beloved experiences.

For that, I say: Farewell, West Texas. You will be missed.