This is it. My life in Los Angeles has come to an end, and as I sit here at LAX, I find myself reflecting on my life so far. The good. The bad. And everything in between. Sorting through everything I own has been strange.

Toys.

Clothes.

Books.

Memories.

It’s been an adventure and letting go of things I’ve carried with me for most of my life has been harder than I expected. One of the hardest was a winter jacket—one of the last things I had left from my grandmother.

I know what you’re probably thinking.

It’s a jacket. What’s the big deal?

Well… this jacket has a story.

When I was twelve, I hit a bit of a growth spurt and outgrew the winter coat I’d worn the year before. I’d been making do with one of my dad’s lighter jackets, but it was old and barely warm. My grandmother noticed and told my cousin to take me shopping and get me something better.

So my cousin took me to a local outfitter called D&G and told me to pick something out. The only rules were that it had to be warm—and that it had to be something I’d actually wear.

After a lot of browsing, I found it: a red and black Columbia Titanium jacket.

It was new. It was warm. And most importantly to twelve-year-old me… it was fashionable. My grandmother was just happy that I’d finally have something warm to wear.

Until she saw the price tag.

Then she got upset with my cousin for letting me pick one of the most expensive jackets in the store. But, in my cousin’s defense, she hadn’t been given a price limit, so she just decided to let me get whatever I wanted – and me being twelve didn’t pay any attention to how much it cost.

Still, my grandmother made one thing very clear to me. I had better keep that damn coat forever. And for years I did.

But recently, when I washed it, I realized the rubber lining had deteriorated. The jacket had simply reached the end of its life. It wasn’t warm anymore. It wasn’t really usable at all.

Still, I kept it. For a while.

Because it was one of the last things I had left from her.

But this week, while packing up my life, I realized something: holding onto a useless winter jacket just because of the memories attached to it wasn’t something I could afford to do anymore.

So… it was finally time to let it go.

However, since I’ve spent the last two decades in Los Angeles, and my parents not wanting me to freeze during the Tokyo winter, my parents bought me a new jacket. Sadly, the Titanium line has long since been discontinued, but at least this one was blue!

It will be sometime before I’ll get to give it a good wear, but I am happy to know that I’ll have some warmth living in Tokyo during the winter. Again, I know it’s a silly little thing, but it’s just a part of my changing story. It wasn’t the only thing I had to say goodbye to. However, as my friend said “Saying goodbye to the thing sometimes makes you feel like you’ll forget the person who gave it to you.”

I know I’ll never forget my grandmother. She was one of a kind and someone I loved with my whole heart – and who I knew loved me the same way. It was just one of the last tangible things I had that she’d given me.

But as I step into the new world. I’m ready for this challenge.

It’s time to start boarding. My Next post will come from Tokyo.

Until then… 

乞うご期待!