{third year reflections}
well, today marks my three year anniversary of living in new york city. exactly three years ago to the date, i boarded a plane with two suitcases in tow. i was headed to an unknown land, to a sublet apartment i’d never seen before, save a photo, and had no job and seemingly no friends. yes, i had met my soon-to-be roommate, jen, twice…still, i was so nervous and so excited and so…everything. standing on the edge of my world as i knew it, i had a mix of emotions i’d never felt before and have yet to feel again.
looking at my years in new york city as an education {of which it most certainly has been} i am now embarking on my senior year. which is, historically, the best. the past three have been chalk-full of joy and pain and heartache and laughter and new experiences. friendships beginning, friendships ending. jobs beginning, jobs ending. from chelsea to midtown east to the upper west to washington heights. if you’d told me on that day in the springdale, arkansas airport that exactly three years later i would be writing this from my social work internship in the bronx…well, that i would’ve never believed. these are the moments in which you realize why God is in control and we are not. i would never have chosen this path for myself; it has often been frustrating and i have found myself a lot throughout the journey asking myself what i was thinking or doing?! a magazine internship, an advertising agency, a nannying gig, a social work graduate program?? (the latter may be the craziest of them all)! yet for all of those questions unanswered, i have triple the amount of concretes. clif brown, my future-husband, who i met here. some of the greatest friends i’ve ever had. the opportunity to lead a fellowship group through and be a part of a gospel-centered church like Redeemer. amazing restaurants, broadway debuts, hilarious improv shows, funny stories, traveling by subway, blizzards and blazing hot summers without air conditioning, fifth-floor walk-up apartments and rooftop parties, friends in finance and friends in the arts. creativity abounds in this city that truly never sleeps. i know i have my days of ragging on this place - and it can be a tough one. it is known to chew you up and spit you out - but i also have my days of loving this place of madness. it has given me a lot in the past three years, that i cannot deny. i have watched myself grow up here.
new york city, thanks for three great years…here is to another one (or three…)
