just a city boy

...the city.

well, i don't really know what to say to start. a bunch of people have been putting up blogs, so i thought this would be a cool way to get some of my thoughts out. i think i've kept a lot of my daily thoughts in since i've been living in the suburbs away from daily interaction with close friends. i hope to make my way back to the city as soon as possible in an effort to remedy that problem!

to give you a quick idea of where i am right now, i'm living at home with my parents in economy, pa, about 30 minutes north of pittsburgh. i'm here because i was a youth pastor in mars until two weeks ago. i learned pretty quickly that youth ministry is not for me. working in a church is very difficult and is a compromise of values for me. bottom line, it was impossible for me to mix church with work. it was the right decision for me and for the church. as a result, i'm sitting here on a saturday afternoon watching football and waiting to see where God intends to send me.

since i went to pitt, most of my best friends are in pittsburgh right now, as i type. my plan is to move back to pittsburgh and work at pitt. long-term i'd like to get my masters in higher ed from pitt and make a career out of working on a college campus. i grew up in a pitt family and loved my time there as a student. as a result, my heart hasn't left that campus. in fact, my heart has only been spread out from oakland to other areas of the city. i made my home for four years in oakland and for a year in highland park. the churches where i feel at home are in oakland and east liberty. my headquarters for watching the penguins and steelers is in squirrel hill. my music scene is on the 4th floor of the william pitt union and in millvale.

i love my home in economy. i also love my parents. i love the memories i have, especially during autumn. i remember tossing a football to myself around the backyard, riding my bike on the jump i made for myself, and playing wiffleball with my friends from when i was 8 and continuing every summer through this year. i learned how to shoot a basketball in this house's driveway. i learned how to play drums in this basement. these memories will never be taken away, which is probably the best part about wanting to leave. i've been sitting around here thinking about how great it was to grow up here and how happy i've been my whole life here. but the fact is that my heart isn't here now. it's in the city.

so now i'm looking for a job. not anything in particular, but something at pitt, and something that'll pay me enough that i can live in the city. i just want to live near my best friends, work on the campus that gave me energy, and get back into doing ministry on my own terms. i want to feel alive again. and i think i'm on the right track.