Dear Oakland,

I love the way you smile. I know that times can be tough for you, and some bad things have happened while I've lived with you, but somehow you still manage to have the most beautiful smile. Maybe you think I'm crazy, how can a city have a smile? But you do.

Oakland, you have changed me. You have made me a better person. You have made me more aware of the people around me, and also of myself. Now that I've lived with you, I am more brave than I was before, and I thank you for that. Thank you for opening my eyes and ears and making me perceive the world in a new light, the light of Oakland.

Still, I cannot believe that I have to leave you, because it is you that has made me feel more alive than I've felt anywhere else. It is you who has shown me my life and my dreams. You have inspired me to create and to destroy and that is a beautiful thing. You are a beautiful thing, Oakland, and I never want to forget that.

Oakland I want to thank you. Thank you for all of the friends you have given me, for all of the food you have given me, for the education you have given me, for the love you have given me, and for the secret places you have given me.

I cannot wait to be within you again.

Love,

Alyssa