no place like home

I moved to New York City the summer of 2008. After graduation and a month or so of pool hopping and waitressing I took a job, found an apartment and never looked back. You hear different stories about people's first year or so living in the city. Going out until 5 am and spending the next day swearing you'll never do that again until you forget you have a birthday party or promised a friend you'd meet them for drinks. Working hard - 10 and sometimes 12 hour days because you feel like it's a rite of passage living here. Getting on the wrong train, meeting the most random people and spending way too much on cabs. You know what I remember the most though, being absolutely broke.

I had a roof over my head and clean clothes but that was only because I knew which deli had the cheapest ramen and yogurt. I ate a lot of eggs and toast to say the least but through all of it, I can't say that I never thought that enough was enough. I loved it here, I still love it here. Every paycheck felt like a blessing and while it was a bit of a struggle, much like the days spent working well into the night, it was another NYC rite of passage to me.

This city puts you through it's own fleet of tests. Even now when the temperatures have been hovering around 10 degrees with the occasional snowfall, I smile every time I walk through Madison Square Park. I cried in Whole Foods in Chelsea when I received my job offer. I fell in love, literally in the Empire State Building. Sometimes I think that little bit of hunger made me work that much harder to stay. Because even though this city can chew you up and spit you back out hungover, tired and overworked, it's breathtaking every time I walk down the street. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. This is my home.