Moving to Virginia, I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay—I only knew it was close to my hometown in New Jersey, and that felt comforting. For a long time, I moved from apartment to apartment all across the Hampton Roads area, never quite settling in. I didn’t expect to be here this long, and at first, it wasn’t my choice; I came for military service, but I stayed for so much more. Over the years, I’ve lived everywhere from Hampton/Newport News to Virgi...