as I sit and look around my apartment as the sun beams throughout this place, i get that warm fuzzy feeling of being home. i love this place so much & can’t BELIEVE i am moving out in 10 days. it makes me wonder what my grama’s place was like? did she look around her flat before she moved and think… “i’m sure gonna miss this place when i move to Canada”? did she reflect on a chapter ending & a new one beginning? was she excited? scared? ready as ever to take a leap of faith…believing in love like never before?
i’ve been here for 2 years. 2 years of magic. i moved in single & alone for the first time in almost 10 years. this apartment was a HUGE chapter in my life. i discovered so much about who i am, who i want to be & who i’m not. i discovered a life changing institute that has not only left me with an idea of what kind of career i want, but what kind of life i want to live. i traveled. i experienced personal growth. i went out on the town & danced my little heart out. i stayed home alone on friday & saturday nights….and danced my little heart out. i managed to live 2 years without a tv or microwave (no strong opinion on that, just never got around to buying them). walked the beautiful detroit river many many times. stared out the window at my view pretending it was New York City. discovered my love for photography and dove into cb² – captured by carly butler.
practiced gratitude. met my love.
i am about to leave this amazing place. close the chapter in my life…to begin the next. i was having a conversation with a very dear friend the other day about places. about what different places do for different people at different times in their lives. i think back to my childhood home. my parents haven’t moved since i was born. that house built me (like this song) and will forever hold a special place in my heart. then i think of my time in university, my first time away from home. i think of Korea. a time in my life that was full of adventure & travel. and this place: my 2 years of self-discovery and self-realization that i want to commit to a life of this. lifelong growth. i want to always be learning, taking risks & trying new things. creating every day, loving with my whole heart & having the courage to live my dreams.
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what places in your life story have had a lasting impact on you? how has that certain place shaped you into the person you are today?
How the main door opened. How the staircase cracked. How the kitchen table cracked- me dancing on it. #nightmareonelmstreet
You had a beautiful apartment…remember you can build a house but not a home.
You inspire me. Thank you
re-reading this makes me appreciate your comment all over again. thanks for your comments & kind words Clay. xo
Dear Carly,
I will miss you. There’ s something about you that has always made you stand out.
You have this maturity and appreciation beyond your years.I will always remember our dinner at Mazaar and will follow your adventures on Facebook .be careful, the world is not always as kind as you are.
thanks so much for saying this Lil. xoxo
i think this is my favourite post of yours so far 🙂 so very kind about your charming apartment…. but a new adventure awaits!! xoxo
Hi Carly,
The rain woke me up and I’m wide awake at 3:30am PST. I’ve been wanting to get caught up on LifesLetters, and I took this opportunity of quiet reflection time to do so. What a joy! SO glad I did. Your questions, the story of your grandparents, your views of everything (Detroit included!), have opened up doors in me of memory and hope. Your commitment to a mission reminds me of the commitment that your grandparents made during the largest global upheaval in human history. You are brave, kind, thoughtful and full of adventure. The spirit and essence of your grandparents lives on in you!!
On place:
A wise man once said: “No matter where you go, there you are.” OK, it was Buckaroo Banzai in the 1980’s movie of the same name—I get my wisdom from wherever I can find it! While your cozy, well-placed, great-viewed apartment is not going to be your home anymore you get to take so much of it with you! Your memories, growth, and at least 1 terabyte of photos (haha!) will be incorporated into your next steps—your next growth. And, because of your willingness to share your journey with your fans (I mean that btw!), we get to benefit from each step you take. We will be there with you on your way as you travel along the roads your grandparents took, and many ones that you will discover for yourself—and us!
Try as we might, we cannot know the future. My own life looks very different from the one that I envisioned when I was young and yet—it is exactly the way I want it, and it gives me everything I need! Place is important, but more importantly, EVERY place we find ourselves is important. What we contribute, what we take with us, how we change it while we are there.
I grew up in a town named after a man who convinced the townspeople to name it in his honor if he threw a tin cup of gold into the street. They accepted his offer, and his name lives on today as the capital of Sierra County, CA and (more importantly to me) in my memory!
Take your tin cup of gold and sling it in the boulevards and avenues of London, and on the decks of the Queen Mary 2 if she’s your ride “home” and wherever you choose to go. The world will sparkle with your golden light, your highest value, and your perfect CHARM!
Best wishes to you as you start this grand adventure!
Re-reading this makes me so grateful you are in my life, Chris. Thank you so much for your kind words. Love & hugs from England…Carly xoxo