Life, According to Reese: An Open Letter to Paddington, 2021

By Reeseatomic @reeseatomic

Dear Paddington,

You've been my partner in crime for just over a decade, and you know that old saying about time flying...

We've have so many good and bad memories between us: our late night strolls down Oxford Street to get something to eat, midnight bookstore dates, being so poor at one stage that I could only afford 2 minute noodles and our little two year separation when I decided to up and move to Melbourne to "find myself".

(Sigh)

We've had such a great run together and it's with such a heavy heart that we break up... for good. I realised that living in Paddington has given me the best life... as a bachelorette; 20 years-old who moved into a leafy unit behind COFA, who didn't care about working part-time, who insisted on living on $300 a week (which included rent) and spent entire weekends sitting in bed watching Monsters Inc.

All those beautiful memories will be so dear to my heart and I will cherish them forever, but as I packed up my bachelorette life and prepared for WIFE LIFE, I did feel detached from you. The air wasn't as crisp and fresh, the sun wasn't warm and happy... you really lost it's appeal. In fact, I silently counted down the minutes til we left and I didn't even want to look back.

I'm sure there will be times where I crave for the lifestyle again and there will be moments where I miss you. But I know I've moved on to something tremendously more exciting and thrilling than anything I've ever done before. I will NOT miss your lack of parking spots and your ridiculous fees and paperwork to acquire a residential sticker. So, you can keep that... as well as my troll, and my ex's shallow and superficial family.

Living in suburbia will be different but it's all part of the bigger picture and where the next chapter of our life will start. Although it won't be considered "metropolitan Sydney", I am profoundly grateful that we're still in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.

It's been a pleasure but it's time to move on, Paddington. Thank you for being part of my bachelorette life. You've been amazing!

Love, Reese