charlotte arnold

today i had a moment. one of those moments you know you'll never forget. it was nothing out of the ordinary, but i realized something that's big for me right now.

today a friend who had i hadn't spoken with in a while asked me what i'm thinking about the future. it's funny because normally i would skirt the question with "who knows", "it's right for right now", "i am where i am", etc. but lately i actually have been giving it quite a bit of thought. i don't have any answers to speak of, but my mind has wondered: what do i want to do? where do i want to be? i'm still happy here, but my mind has just wondered (and wandered) as of late.

the moment came late in the day when i had to go to an editing suite to make sure some dvds of rough cuts for a TV spot were working properly and were ready to ship to research groups in germany. the assistant editor that i worked with was a girl named charlotte arnold. there are times, especially in the city, where i meet people who strike me for one reason or another. charlotte was instantly one of these people. she's british, probably in her mid-late twenties, and looks like a regular girl. there's nothing extraordinary about her appearance or presence. but as we sat in that room and watched the 20 second spots over and over, i began to wonder about her life.

she's probably from london - came to the big city for an adventure and for opportunities as an editor. does she miss her family? does she have friends from home here with her? i thought about her life and my life, and how today we randomly were crossing paths as perfect strangers. this is why i love new york city. this is why i'm not ready to leave. not that there aren't different people in texas who are from all over the world, but it's different. i envisioned doing the same thing i was doing at that exact moment in texas, and it was nothing short of unsettling.

i have no further conclusions about my future, but only affirmation for the present. for now, i'm still enjoying my concrete jungle full of perfect strangers. so thank you, charlotte arnold. i needed that.