I wrote this in 2003 and things have only gotten better since then. I love this town! Every city has it's problems/challanges but we don't need outside experts or silver bullets to tell us how good we have it.
Friday March 28th, 2003
I met a young girl the other day at a coffee shop in Hanover Square. She recently moved back from Baltimore, where she went to college to study international business and management. Originally from Liverpool, she now lives and works in downtown Syracuse, and is absolutely in love with her new setting.
I told her that I grew up here also, and live and work in the city as well. I told her I shared her enjoyment of life here, and am excited to be a part of it's future.
She went on to tell me about her sister who lives in Chicago, where she moved after college so she wouldn't have to go back to Syracuse, and her brother who moved to L.A. because it was warm and he wouldn't have to deal with the snow.
The family had recently reunited in Syracuse for a wedding. During their week together, they shared many laughs, tears, and memories. They also came to realize that they were eachothers closest friends and confidants. "How can we help eachother on a daily basis when we are so far apart?", she asked. Over the phone? email? That's not enough. That can't even come close to the feeling of a hug and a kiss, the spirit in a smile or a pat on the back."
The brother and sister have been back twice since that wedding last fall, and are both strongly considering relocating back home. The girl almost started to cry, "I hope they go through with it", she said, "I miss them everyday."
Then she asked, "Why do so many young people go away in search of new opportunities before even thinking of exploring options here?"
She wasn't just talking about her brother and sister, but also her cousins, some of the people she knew growing up, most of her best friends from high school. While she was in Baltimore telling everyone how great Syracuse was, back home people were leaving like there was a plague coming.
I sensed a little anger, along with some sadness and lonliness in her voice, so I tried to reassure her. I told her the Central New York region was a hidden jewel waiting to be rediscovered.
She said I was crazy. I laughed and kept going. I told her that Syracuse, a city seen by many as bleak and unrewarding, is viewed by others as a place of dreams, of history, character and hope. A place where you can realize your potential and find the means to reach your goals. She said she had never heard anyone her age say anything like that about Syracuse, but she agreed.
The young people of Syracuse -- students, workers, professionals, artists, entertainers, etc. -- need to follow the example of some of our counterparts and take more ownership, finding solutions to many problems. We are the ones who are relied on for stability in hard times. We are not going to leave home because life is easier somewhere else. We are going to stay, because we have challanges to face that will build our character and make us better people.
We are right to be sick of the mediocrity and conformity in our world and our city. We deserve better. Many of us could work anywhere in the world, but for many reasons we prefer to live and work right here.
Alot of young people complain about their situation in Syracuse. Some leave Syracuse to seek new opportunities. Where are you going? Away from a part of yourself, something that cares about you, something that needs you? Why?
In the next few years this part of the world is going to change dramatically. I look forward to it. There will be difficulties, tough decisions to be made. Everything will not go perfectly. But as we persevere, we will mold something great out of what we are given. We will embrace change and allow it to improve our community.
We must have talked for hours, this girl and I, mostly about life and the future. In the end what it came down to was pride. We know Syracuse has raised terrific people who have gone on to do wondrous things. People of honor and people of the strongest moral value. But what happened to pride?
It is time to create new pride for an old city. With this pride will return many of those who left. More important, it will give us a reason to stay. Those who feel that opportunity is only available elsewhere might stay and figure out how to make opportunities here -- for everyone.
We, the young adults of this community, need to carry the torch. After all, it is our future at stake. We are the ones with the energy, creativity, audacity and strength to make change, and we are the ones who will benefit the most. We will thrive everyday. our economy will grow, our debts and crime rates will shrink, our real estate base will expand. Houses will be full and neighborhoods will be clean. Energy and optimism will be contagious. It will spread throughout the country, and people and businesses will come from all over to be a part of it.
With all the money coming in, no one will be left out. All aspects of the region will benefit. Most importantly, we will do it together, as a community, proud of who we are.
We are approaching a great chasm. We can decide the distance is too far, turn and walk back to where we've always been. Or we can take a small step back, a deep breath, run and jump, knowing that if we don't land on the other side, we will have the strength to grab on to the edge and pull ourselves up.
Of course, if we all work together, we could build a bridge, linking the past to the future. It won't be easy and it will take some time. But we owe it to ourselves to try.
