I recently took a job as a producer/director at an organization in the greater Omaha metropolitan area. It’s an incredible feeling; I think I probably filled out at least forty job applications in the last five months and had interviews with maybe five companies, of which only two were full-time jobs.
I had about a week and a half to find an apartment and move in once the offer came through, which was a thoroughly stressful endeavor. But I’m here, now, and slowly gathering the bits of furniture and ingredients I still need to make my apartment feel more like a home.
So far, I’m loving Omaha. It’s taking some time to adapt. Omaha is hardly a walkable city, and doesn’t boast great (or even good) public transportation*. The traffic sucks sometimes, too (though I’m acutely aware that it’s worse in many other, bigger cities). And I get a weird sense of something not unlike imposter syndrome – it’s still the biggest city I’ve lived in by far. I’ve visited larger cities but in those places I was very much a tourist, surrounded by both tourists and natives. In Omaha – this city where I now permanently reside – I feel, at times, like a tourist. I’m sure this feeling will pass in time.
*Recently I checked Google Maps to find a route someplace not so far away; the options listed a transportation method that would take a whole day and some odd hours. I thought surely that it would be walking. It was actually taking the bus.
There was a moment last week when I took a walk, in the hour and a half before dinner time – around 17:30 or so. I explored my neighborhood, tried to walk the sidewalk along the areas I haven’t yet driven past on my way to work or the grocery store or to visit the property manager’s offices. Upon coming to an intersection and stopping on the sidewalk by the curb I realized how pleasant everything was.
While I stood there on the corner I noticed that across from me was a picturesque house with a swing set in the front, suspended from a tree. I paused to let the cool breeze brush across my arms, wrapping me like a silk shirt; I listened to the wind rustling through the leaves, heard the chirps of robins nesting in the branches above me. Felt the warm sun peeking through tall elms. Noticed what a breathtaking shade of blue the sky had become. In that moment I was intensely happy to be where I was – happy that I am now where I am.
This is my home now, and it is a wonderful place to live. I’m ecstatic for everything that comes next, and I can’t wait to become a part of this city more fully.
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