Category: Personal Growth
Soul Searching
People come to New York City for a lot of different reasons. Ultimately, it boils down to two sides of the spectrum: Either you came here with a plan or you came here without a plan.
I’ve met a variety of people since I moved here. Everyone has a unique story. Everyone has their reasons. Usually, they’ve come here in search of something. There are other times when they’ve come to get away from the place they were before; for a change of pace.
Yesterday, while I was sitting at Starbucks, I met a man who came to the United States only two days ago from Israel. He came straight to New York City. When I was speaking to him, he told me that he was looking for a place to stay for the night. I suggested that he try looking on Craiglist because there are always available rooms posted there (Plus, I found my apartment that way) He shook his head in disagreement and said that he was interested in a place near Wall Street that he wanted to check out. He, then, asked me how to get there by walking. We were in Union Square at the time, and honestly, I had never walked from Union Square to Wall Street, so I had to look at my iPhone to map out the best route.
“I’ll figure it out,” he told me.
I was shocked at how nonchalant he was about not having a definite place to stay. He reassured me that he was going to be okay. I smiled and wished him good luck. I had a feeling that he would be just fine. People eventually find their way in New York City.
As he left, I reflected on all of the people that I’ve met so far. Some have come from every corner of the United States: California, Florida, West Virginia, North Carolina, North Dakota, Maine, Massachusetts. The list goes on.
What I love so much about New York City is how you can come here with a fresh start. It doesn’t matter where you came from. You can redefine yourself. It’s a place of self-discovery. Here, we all have a clean slate and it’s a common thread that unites everyone who lives here.
The other thing about New York City is how much it can tear you down. It can make you feel more alone and lost than you’ve ever felt in your life. And if you let it, it can swallow you whole, which is why many people also feel the need to get out. Endless waves of people are constantly coming in and out of this city.
New York City has beaten me up many times since I’ve been here, but I can’t say I’m ungrateful for it. Originally, I came here with a plan. I came here for work. I came here to run away from home. I’ve realized, however, that my problems just came with me. No matter how far you run away, the things that you’re running away from will always catch up to you.
I spent a lot of time alone this weekend, which is exactly what I needed. I slowed down my life a little from going out so much the past few weekends. I came to understand that New York City is making me strong so that I can face these problems.
The reasons for why I originally came here have changed. I, now, know that I came here to do soul searching. There have been times where I felt like I couldn’t handle this city. I wanted to get out, like a lot of other people. But, I’m not even halfway done with my journey.
Every day, I’m getting a little closer to finding myself. This is why I came here.
Live with Passion
I’ve always been curious as to how people choose their interests. I often wonder whether it was by accident or maybe through a friend. Maybe they saw it on television or on the streets. Either way, I love seeing how far along they come with the time that they invest into that particular hobby or interest.
All throughout my life, I’ve had friends that have their own unique skills and talents. Dancers, gymnasts, skaters, musicians, singers, you name it. I’m constantly inspired by my diverse group of friends because they all lead such different lives and are passionate about different things. I surround myself with these kinds of people because of their drive and determination to succeed. There’s a saying that goes something like “the friends that we choose are a reflection of ourselves” I’m not sure if that’s how it actually goes or if I just made that up, but regardless, that’s what I believe.
When I dissect my friends by their personality type, I have a pretty clear understanding of why they are good at the things they’re good at. It’s because of the time and effort that they put into those things.
As we get older, it’s easy to lose sight of the things that we love. We grow up, get jobs, re-prioritize what’s important to us, and fall out of touch. Looking at my friends now, I’m seeing that a lot of them now have jobs, but are still attached to the things that they love and they’re all doing pretty well for themselves. They’re happy.
As I said earlier, I love to see how far along people come with the things that they love. If we work hard enough at the things that we’re passionate about, it will eventually manifest into something great. The time that we invest into our daily tasks is directly correlated to our success.
All of the decisions that we make in life are a reflection of ourselves. Similar to the way our friends are a reflection of ourselves, the same goes for the hobbies we choose. And this also goes for our work. We should never lose sight of our passion and interests because someday, it can and will define us.
Live with passion. Always. Something great will eventually happen.
“How to Find and Do Work You Love”
“How to Find and Do Work You Love”
A friend of mine sent over this TEDTalk YouTube video the other day and it really resonated with me. I’ve been feeling extremely inspired lately; to write, to run, to enjoy my life. I wanted to share this so that other people can feel inspired too. Happy Friday!
“Every morning in Africa…”
Weather and Change
To add to the list of things that I’ve learned since living in New York City, I can say this:
Weather amplifies whatever mood you wake up in (by x100)
Side Note: For those of you who don’t live in New York, New Jersey, or the East Coast in general, it’s no surprise to get all four seasons in one week. Actually, it’s no surprise to get all four seasons in one day. Today is a prime example of that.
This morning, I woke up already feeling the rain in my joints.
I got out of bed, looked out of the window, and grunted. I didn’t want to predestine that it was going to be a lousy day because a day is only what you make of it. This morning, however, was a bit lousy and I only blame the weather.
New York City in the Summer is a wonderful time of year. There are hundreds upon thousands of sights to see and activities to partake in. This past weekend, for example, I spent an entire day walking around Williamsburg in Brooklyn and it was one of the best Saturdays I’ve had recently.
When the sun is shining, everyone calms down more than usual. Everyone becomes a lot more tolerable. On rainy days though, it takes a drastic turn. Everyone returns to their hostile, agitated state and it’s pretty unpleasant when you’re surrounded by a million hostile and agitated people.
It was down-pouring as I walked to work this morning. My office is only a few short blocks away from Grand Central Station, but on days like today, the journey seems like it goes on for miles.
Once I got to work, I brushed off the tension from the morning commute, and settled into a more comfortable state. As I settled down at my desk, I was already re-arranging the rest of my day around the weather and adjusting my routine to work out.
It’s amazing how quickly plans can change due to the weather. It’s also amazing how quickly the weather can change.And ultimately, it boils down to…it’s amazing how quickly people can change their minds.
New York City has taught me a lot about how anything can happen. Weather quickly changes, plans quickly change, people quickly change. And what I’ve gathered from these observations is this:
No wonder why people in New York City are so self-sufficient, independent, and isolated in their own worlds. It’s really hard to depend on anything or anyone as 100% guaranteed.
In the grand scheme of things, I guess you can apply this idea to the entire world. Really, anything can happen and I appreciate New York City for giving me that open mindset.
Things I’ve learned since living in New York City
Last night, I had a difficult time sleeping. At the maximum, I probably tallied around 2-3 hours of sleep in total. I’ve been restless, stressed out, and agitated lately. A lot has been on my mind and I’ve been feeling like I’m going slightly insane. My scapegoat: New York City.
After having a heart-to-heart with my roommate, I was reassured that temporary insanity is quite normal when you live in the city long enough.
As a result of this realization, I made a short list of things I’ve learned since I moved here. It’s a random list, and most certainly on-going, but this is what I came up with so far…
– Every man for himself
– Know what you’re going to order at a deli, bar, coffee shop, etc. before getting to the register
– Personal space doesn’t exist
– One minute can make all the difference between being 15 minutes late or 15 minutes early
– It’s never been so easy to completely stop talking to someone
– The city isn’t as big as you’d think, aka, you can still run into people you know ANYWHERE
– Walking fast is necessary
– Dating sucks
– Buy groceries in New Jersey
– Happy hour is still expensive
– Cheap food, however, does exist
– There are a million free things to do and still have fun
– Have your metrocard ready prior to going through the turnstile
– Taxi drivers hustle you
– TIMING IS EVERYTHING
– It’s easy to feel completely alone even in a fully crowded bar
– Cockroaches are everywhere
– When looking for an apartment, you have to compromise no matter what (unless you’re filthy rich)
Again, this is definitely an on-going list. I’ve only been living in New York City for 8 months, but I’ve learned a lot about people and about myself. I’m still trying to figure it all out though.
“Always be kind…”
Something I have constantly have to remind myself, especially since living in New York City
Practice
Last night, my sister and I performed at an open mic at Caffe Vivaldi in the West Village. This was the first time we sang in public together since around February. After months of sporadic rehearsals, we finally chose a time and place. At first, I was pretty confident since we had just practiced the night before and sounded on point. Of course, it’s always the last few minutes prior to the actual performance that really shakes my nerves.
Once we got on stage, I could feel my voice starting to tremble. We made it through the first song with hardly any flaws, but I became gradually more nervous as I looked around at the audience.
The second song was our downfall, which didn’t make sense because it was a song that we had performed together a handful of times before in the winter
After our set was done, I kept re-playing the second song in my head, nit-picking every mistake that I knew I had made. At that point, there was nothing I could really do except tell myself that it was already over and we just have to practice more for next time.
Singing isn’t a priority for me. If anything, it’s basically at the bottom of my to-do list. It’s just something I do for fun to take my mind off of the more important things in my life.
After hearing the other performers play and sing their original songs, I was envious of just how good they were. Then I thought, “These people probably spend hours upon hours constantly writing music, practicing, and playing open mics on a weekly or probably daily basis”
My friend, who came to watch and support my sister and I, said to me “You know, for a while Amy [a mutual friend] used to come here every single Monday night just get practice performing on stage”
I thought to myself, “Well I don’t really have time for that”
Then I realized, it’s really just a matter of making time for it.
I do love music and singing, but there are also things that I care about much more (and here is where I start talking about running again)
I know that if I spent half as much time practicing making music as I do running and exercising, then I could be as good as the other performers who played at the open mic last night.
I’m currently not training for a specific race at the moment, so I decided that I’m going to try distributing my time into other areas of my life (singing and writing) and see just how far I can go with it. I’ll continue to run and go to the gym of course, but I want to become better at other things as well. After all, that’s how you grow.
Currently Playing: “Heatstroke” by Magic Bullets
“People refuse to make due when they lose
Something they thought they’d never find again
They refuse to remember way back when
That something, it did not belong to them”
Lindsey Lazarte 