Being alone for the first time in so many years has been a crazy adjustment. I feel strange as I go through my day. I do not have to cook dinner, no-one is coming home, and I have no pets for the first time in my life. I don’t even have to go home myself. It feels odd, not necessity good or bad, but decidedly different.
Moving out of the family home was an ordeal in itself. The sorting and packing and trying to see into the future to determine what I would need to keep and what would need to be discarded was a distraction from what would soon become my new reality. I put all of my skinny jeans in storage because my daughters told me they were out of style. Now, I have no jeans to wear with boots and oversized sweaters. My ski’s and golf clubs are there too. I don’t feel like myself without these things.
The first few months I walked around San Francisco in a level of disbelief. I could not believe I was here again and starting over like I did at twenty-five. I feel that this was a rather brave thing to do, but at first I did question my own judgement in making this decision.
The city has changed in many good ways and also in many bad ways. The intersection of 5th and Mission has an interesting cross section of humanity. You have Yahoo and the Chronicle Newspaper offices on the corner, the Dental School, University of the Pacific in the middle of the block, and then an influx of homeless people and drug addicts that utilize the services offered just one block to the South on 6th Street. They all cross the street at this intersection. Large groups of people attending conferences at the Moscone Center, tech workers, tourists, visitors, and reporters. It’s actually quite surreal. At first it scared me a little, but now it is the norm. The people in San Francisco are extremely tolerant. At first I thought they were callous. Qualities of tolerance and acceptance are cemented in both the city’s boomtown days and in the many legendary figures that have lived here and have created what we see today. Despite the city’s ever-shifting demographics and public policies tolerance remains a key trait. The attitude is live and let live. I guess I am now a part of this culture as well.
I’ve taken some time to think about what I want to do next. My company Ocean SF is fund raising. We are looking for investors who want to be part of a social impact brand, I have been teaching at UC Berkeley and now I want to write more and share my experiences and the wisdom I have gained from them. I want to write about motherhood, fast changes, business, fashion and I don’t know what else… I am open to ideas. Please let me know what you would like to hear more about. You can message me here or email me at sydney@oceansf.co
For now, I am committed to writing every day. It is one thing that I did not put in storage. Thank you to the many people who support my work. Please contact me and let me know your thoughts on topics!
Love and blessings.
Sydney
Sydney 