Why Seattle??

I’ve been asked this question by many people from my family & close friends to my interviewers (now colleagues) & nearly every person I’ve met since moving here. Some people ask in a tone that implies a bit of skepticism, others ask out bewilderment because they’ve never been exposed to the pacific northwest, but I’d like to believe most are just sincerely interested in my decision making process and wonder what’s so great about this city. So, I’ll try to sum up my answer in a few points:

- CITY LIFE- I’ve always wanted to live in a big city. I moved to Connecticut to attend graduate school five years ago and one of main attractions for me was living so close to Boston and Manhattan. Sadly, I only visited Boston 3-4 times in two years and step foot in Manhattan only twice ☹ Then once again, I accepted my first job in the bay area of California, because the campus I’d work for was only 40 miles south of San Francisco. I’m happy to report I had much more success venturing off to the city on a regular basis, but quickly found that a 40 mile drive usually meant at least an hour commute, which is not very conducive when you want to go out for the occasional adult beverage. Haha. So, needless to say, I was set on moving to an actual city for my next job. I looked at jobs in Chicago and NYC, but I recently visited Seattle last March for the 2nd time, and realized how much I enjoy the vibe of the city. I got to hear one of favorite hip-hop/R&B artist (Rafael Saddiq) and road on a bus to the downtown area everyday. Plus I got to wear a scarf and cap everyday (I love to wear scarfs and caps), but I wasn’t freezing my ass off. So, when I saw a job posted on higheredjobs.com for the University of Washington, I decided to just go for it.

- COFFEE SHOPS- People drink more coffee in Seattle than anywhere in the world…haha OK, I’m not sure that’s a fact, but lets just say the first Starbucks is located here. And you can’t walk two blocks without passing by some type of coffee establishment. I like coffee, but more than that I like coffee shops, mostly because it’s a great place to people watch. Not in a creepy way, but in a reflective way. Its one of the few places you can see business folks meeting to prep for a presentation sitting next to a homeless guy taking a break with his loyal canine companion resting by his side. These images make me realize more that the world does not revolve about me, but rather I am simply playing my role in this production we call “life”.

- WEST COAST ATTITUDE- As many of you know, I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama in a completely homogenous neighborhood. I grew up in a Black world and every aspect of life was seen through the lense of a black man in America. It wasn’t until I was a sophomore in high school that I began to participate in activities that involved people from “over the mountain” and I from that point I’ve had this constant desire to see new places and interact with people different than myself…only to eventually find out there are more similarities than differences between us, if we are willing to spend some time getting to know each other. Moving to the northeast was fun, but I found the people and the communities there to be…well….lets just say more rigid than I was expecting. Most people were very friendly and opened up if you were willing to get over the wall they automatically had up as a natural form of defense. The west coast, by far, is the most eclectic and diverse place I’ve ever lived, and I just couldn’t lose that aspect by moving to Chicago or NYC. So, again, Seattle rose to the top of my list as an ideal location. More than that, I have developed some strong ties with folks in California and didn’t want to move too far from them. So, even though I’m no longer there, I’m only a 2-hour flight away…hint hint ☺

- CONNECTING WITH A TRUE COMMUNITY- Finally, Seattle (and other large cities) stood out as a good place for me, because I wanted to find community with people like me. Growing up in the inner city, I missed the idea of attending a church in the middle of city. Once I moved away to college, I attended primarily churches in small towns or in suburbia, all hoping to have an impact on the nearby city/campus of course... yet comfortably nestled in a conveniently quiet neat clean sanctuary away from the madness of it all. As an evangelical Christian, I’d like to worship in a church that is located in the epicenter of the city and reaching to people from all walks of life. Urban cities are the best place to reach those business men and that homeless guy I spoke of earlier. So, I’m looking forward to finding a community of believers to connect with as I continue to engage in the greater community of Seattle.

- COMING OUT, INTO MY OWN… Finally, in addition to connecting with a Christian community, I was very excited about living in a city I could become an active member of the GLBTQ community. If you don’t know what those letters stand for, they represent the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. If you are a facebook friend, you’ve probably picked up on the subtle (and some not-so-subtle) hints that I’ve recently made the choice to come out as a gay man. If not, I guess you know now ☺. I’ve struggled for years trying to figure out why and how I was oriented this way. And after several years of praying to God to ask him to “change” me, I realized his answer was “you have already been changed when you first believed in me”. During these years of struggling and praying I became increasingly depressed and felt despair about life, that I would never be “normal” and never be able to effect change in the world as Christian, if I had this issue. The church (as an institution) has not helped in this regard, so the more I “fought this desire” and tried to increase my involvement in the church, I realized I’d have to spend a lifetime living a double life. In fact, when I moved to Cali, for the first two years I had 3 lives: my work life, my church life, and my gay life. I built great friendships in all three lives, but I rarely let them know about the other two areas. It wasn’t until my 27 birthday party, that I invited all my coworkers and all my closest gay friends to dinner together. There were over 30 people there! It was so relieving to see everyone interact with each other and share stories about how they got to know me. Obviously, I never incorporated my “gay life” into my “church life”. Although I did make strides by opening up to my pastor and surprisingly received a great amount of loving support. Leading a triple life can be very exhausting and it made the depression over time increase exponentially. So, I resolved in the past year, that I would begin to merge my different lives and find a place to live where I could be openly gay…openly Christian… OPENLY DAVID to everyone I encountered. To some that may seem like a gay Christian may sound like an oxymoron, but trust me… I know in whom I have believed and pray everyday that He’ll use me to make a difference in the world for his kingdom sake. I don’t quite know yet where this journey will take me, but I’m very excited about what is yet to come!

WHEWWW… ok I said it! So, feel free to email me with any questions. For the most part I’m an open book. ☺

Thanks for reading my really long first entry…
Cheers!
~dd