Solemn

2015 was the year I went from knowing almost nothing about Paris and the French language to knowing more than most. In January, I decided I was going to put the work in and start learning the tongue, seeing that I was becoming more involved with the import side of our business and would be spending more time abroad. I went from having been to Paris three times over the course of my life to three times over the course of a few months. After Thanksgiving I'll be heading back to Paris again for a fourth time, finishing up a personal project for K&L I've been working on for more than six months. I can't wait. For me, the city has gone from an overwhelming mass of incomprehensible jibberish to my home away from home. Simply put, I love Paris. It's the perfect place for me and it occupies a special place in my heart after my experiences there this past year. In fact, I think I've been happier hanging out in Paris this year than I have been visiting anywhere else at any other time in my life. 

To me, Paris is the beacon of everything a great city should and can be. If I could afford to just pick up and move there, I would do so without blinking an eye. It's a place I'm constantly thinking about when I'm not there, and a place where my worries wash away as soon as I enter it. It's a place where everyone is welcome, but no one is special. It's a place where you can blend in and disappear, yet where everyone is simultaneously on display. It's a place full of unique world cultures, yet with a clear culture of its own. It's the most beautiful and wonderful city in the world. The idea that anyone could see Paris in any other way is crazy to me. The fact that someone would seek to destroy that ideal is painful.

-David Driscoll

David Driscoll