“The half-life of love is forever,” Junot Diaz wrote as the final line of his short story, “The Cheater’s Guide to Love.” He was speaking of a love he had for a former significant other, but it’s something that can be used for a number of things that we come to know in our lives.

This column is the final column I will be writing for The Gazette, as of Friday I will be moving on from Farmville Newsmedia LLC to take a job back in Fredericksburg, my hometown, which has nothing to do with journalism, or writing. And that’s okay.

Thirteen months ago, when I wrote my first column here, I said I would rather spend 100 hours working on what I love than 20 hours doing something that I’m ultimately indifferent about. I have poured myself into the work that I’ve been wild-eyed about, working each issue to be a better storyteller than I was in the last one. I am proud of the work I have done, I have enjoyed the communities I’ve been introduced to and I have learned more than I may have ever learned in my life, but there is a pressing on my heart to be next to the ones I love, family and friends included.

I will still write and work to tell stories on my own accord as it is part of the DNA of my being and I will take the lessons of citizen leadership that I have been given here in the Heart of Virginia and bring it with me to Fredericksburg. I have cherished this area and I have loved this job. In the words of Diaz, I’m sure the half-life of love for this season of my life will be forever.

Morgan White is a staff reporter with The Charlotte Gazette and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. His email address is Morgan.White@ TheCharlotteGazette.com.