I moved to the city in August of 1980, and someone I thought was

In the words of Holly Hunter, we hear the fragile yet courageous beginning of a journey. She recalls her move to the city in August of 1980, stepping into the unknown with little more than trust and determination. She describes a wedding cake of a building, ornate and layered, where she slept upon the couch of one she believed a friend. For a few days, this borrowed refuge became her doorway into a new life. From this tale emerges the truth: that great ventures often begin in humility, with uncertainty and borrowed shelter.

The ancients knew this path well. When Romulus and Remus were cast upon the river, they survived not in palaces but in the cave of a she-wolf. From such humble and precarious beginnings was Rome itself born. So too Hunter’s first nights on a couch reveal that greatness is not diminished by modest starts. The wedding cake building, grand in its facade, contrasts with the vulnerability of her situation, reminding us that life’s exteriors often conceal deeper struggles within.

Her reflection also teaches the lesson of discernment. The friend she thought she had did not remain a pillar of support, for not every companion on the path is truly a friend. Yet even in disappointment, there is wisdom: to learn early that trust must be given with care, and that resilience must not depend on others alone. Such experiences temper the spirit, making it strong enough to endure what lies ahead.

History offers us a mirror in the tale of Benjamin Franklin, who arrived in Philadelphia as a youth with little more than a loaf of bread under his arm. He, too, depended on the kindness of strangers, slept in modest lodgings, and endured the uncertainty of beginnings. Yet from such days of obscurity, he rose to shape a nation. Hunter’s memory is of the same lineage: proof that humility at the start does not diminish glory at the end.

Therefore, let this wisdom be passed down: when you begin, do not despise the couch, the borrowed room, or the fleeting kindness. They are the stepping stones by which destiny tests your resolve. The city, the friend, the building like a wedding cake—all these were symbols of the threshold Hunter crossed. In her story, we are reminded that greatness does not emerge fully formed, but rises slowly, from fragile beginnings into enduring strength.