Leaving Dallas: Packing Up a Home and Carrying a Dream

The Life of a Modern Renaissance Man: A Video Journal, entry 10

Dallas was never just another place I lived. It was where so much of the person I was becoming took shape.

As we packed up and prepared to leave, I found myself thinking about a childhood detour that changed everything. I wanted to study visual art at Bak Middle School of the Arts. I didn't get into that major and ended up in drama instead. At ten years old, I was not impressed with the universe's career counseling. Eventually I realized acting was exactly where I needed to be.

That road led me to SMU, to Dallas, to friendships and work that made me grow up, and to the strange, beautiful life I'd been building through performance, music, design, and filmmaking. Taking art off the walls and putting things into boxes was a physical reminder of how much had happened there.

Naturally, we made music during the move. We also ended the exhausting day with vegan desserts and the satisfaction of having survived packing. If you've ever moved, you know that is an accomplishment deserving its own award ceremony.

Leaving a place you love is complicated. I felt gratitude, nostalgia, and real excitement about what could come next. Dallas helped me become a man and an artist. Carrying those experiences forward felt like the right way to honor it.