On Brooklyn.

September 1, 2022

Dear Brooklyn: A Love Letter

This past June, I was supposed to spend 7 days in NYC, putting my feet on the pavement to help me decide if this place could be the next stop in my journey. All thanks to my dear friends Adri and Gaby, this serendipitously turned into an entire summer, hopping from sublet to sublet, friend’s couch to friend’s couch, fully immersing myself in the energy of this city.

Not long after I arrived, my dear friend Jorah brought me to an unassuming gay bar at the corner of Metropolitan and Lorimer that became my safe haven and home base, and the place I sowed a seed that grew into a beautifully queer, welcoming, and warm community. At the door we had Nancy — the dyke mother of all of us, bouncing with kindness wrapped in ferocity and kicking us out promptly at 4am. It was here that I met Brooke and Nina — two punk rockers who every Tuesday swept Katie’s Karaoke stage and had the crowd going wild. I met Luke and Najee and Case — people who have bared their souls to me, and mine to them. I met Rice and Eddy and Moss — some of the kindest people I have ever known and the first to welcome anyone into their space when they needed a place to go. There was Brooke and Karlea, the only two people who I would ever travel to Manhattan to see. And finally, I met my future billiards partner Josie, who can rival the very best with her quiet intensity and defensive prowess.

I also brought new friends into this space. People like Kiana and Davan, my teammates and friends and pool students from @nyrcwomen rugby. People like Sara and Taime and Hurley and Dani and Manu, who helped me learn things about myself that I had been unable to face alone. It was a blessing to share my shelter with them.

I think I can count on one hand how many times I went to any other bar, because I had everything I needed right there. I got the chance to see almost all of these people for my last @metropolitanqueeraoke Tuesday, and my heart overflowed with love.

Home is not just a place. It’s also the quality of the human beings that fill that space. I am blessed to have found such a space in Brooklyn, and now the countdown begins for my homecoming.

60 days.