I can officially say I'm not a tourist in New York.
I can't say I'm a resident.
It's been exactly 19 days since I flew up to NYC in hopes to live here.
I moved up here knowing that the only job I'd have for a couple weeks would be an unpaid, nevertheless I was so thrilled. Just a week before I left Atlanta, I was packing up my belongings from my Buckhead apartment to move back home when I got the news that I'd be interning here in the city. I had no solid plans, didn't have any money saved up, and no apartment.
I've had the most stressful time, but when I walk around the New York, I feel like it's home. What stresses me is that I have no control over which apartments I can live in or how fast I can make money when it's only been 2.5 weeks. I'm totally out of my comfort zone because I can't get control of things with factors like income and housing. These things take time.... I realized.
So I make the most of the situation simply by enjoying everything else about New York. Stress is such a potent thing, causing me to get sick and have constant headaches. The food here is ridiculously expensive compared to what I'm used to. I never thought twice about buying meals for $5-6 dollars, but doing that 2-3xs a day plus a cup of coffee, really adds up. So I've managed to scope out cheap pizza or Chinese food... horrible I know. I've never eaten so unhealthy and so much fast food. I didn't even bring my running shoes, so working out hasn't been an option for me.
I've had thoughts about how much easier things would be if I could just go home and drive my car everywhere. Rent would be so much cheaper and I'd be able to eat and workout but it's not worth it to me. There's so many opportunities here and I'm here for one thing, my future. It seems stupid to think that I'm going through all this for an internship, but it's so worth it. I look forward to the three days I get to go in, and I never hesitate to wake up so I can take the QNR to Canal St. and get to working.
I never really knew what I wanted to focus my future in, but I know that fashion will be a huge part of it. My internship is something I enjoy, and I don't ever dread going into work, like I would my retail jobs. It's a lot of hands on work, rather than sitting at a computer all day. The day goes by so quickly, I never feel like I've been there all day. The best part is that I got here right before NY Fashion Week.
Not only did I get to work and attend fashion shows, but I got an awesome front row seat at the Monique Lhuillier show. I got to see notable people in the industry like Andre Leon Talley and Brad from the Rachel Zoe Project. I usually don't get star struck because I see celebs often (like the other day I saw Tracy Morgan walk into Duane Reade and I glared at him and strutted off :) but when I saw Brad... I thought to myself "OMG!!! Shut the front door," just as Rachel would say, and I managed to get a pic of him on my iPhone.
Emma Roberts was interviewed on E! at the show and when I saw clips of the Monique show, I recognized my arm in the background. It was nearly perfect.
Here are a few pics via my iPhone.
Find Brad! So close, so far away.
Right before the start of the show!
Note the red arrow point at Brad :)
Loved this dress.
Yes, the models are super tall and thin. I felt like a hobbit next to one.
It's been pretty surreal. My first show I worked was Costello Tagliapietra, and I had the biggest smile the whole time (inside smile) because I couldn't believe I was really at a show. Even during the run-through I was so excited. Having an internship I enjoy seems to be my only incentive to keep on going. These next few months are going to be hard but it's so worth it.
This has been the perfect end to my crazy summer. I finally know what I want my life to be like and instead of feeling nostalgic, I'm looking forward.
