DEAR READER: BYE BYE, HILMONSTAH!

You can go your own way! … Everything’s waiting for you.

Boston, I’m leaving you for Brooklyn, but not because I don’t love you anymore. So I’ll try to keep this brief:

I could joke about running around Dig HQ wearing the Dig Box, or brag about Boston to Austin, our SXSW showcase and one of my proudest accomplishments, or point to the pink champagne splattered across the ceiling of the office because of that New Year’s Eve photoshoot last December. (Sorry Jeff, by the way). I could talk about the weirdest press kits I’ve ever received (hunks of cement covered in nails?) and I could share off-the-record anecdotes from the interviews I’ve conducted with everyone from Jodie Foster to the Dropkick Murphys. I could say that Boston’s artists, musicians, dancers, actors, directors, and my colleagues have made me feel like the luckiest journalist in the goddamn world, no matter how little sleep I got because of a show the night before or how steep my bar tab was due to a stressful deadline.

But instead of continuing down Memory Lane—that’s what my going away party’s for, right?—

I want to leave you with this: do good, Boston, by those you’re lucky enough to work with, to create with, to fall with and rise up with.

This is a city brimming with some of the most breathtaking words and images that have been dreamed up by the human mind. This is where brilliant people come to cultivate their genius, no matter how they define it. Boston is one hell of a playground for those who want to make something of it, so do that—and remember that a playground is a lot more fun when you’ve got your friends around.

Support the scene, build new ones, and continue to be one of the best cities in the world, Boston. It’s been an honor to write about all the beautiful art you produce and the music you make, and I’m a better journalist—a better person—because of my time here at DigBoston.

Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you fuckin’ thank you.

X HFH

Good luck, stunna. We will MISS YOUUUUUU!!!!!!! #F33L1NG5