happy one year anniversary to me moving to new york, and happy one day anniversary to my teeth hurting for eating too many sour skittles
hard to say which anniversary is more important
My favorite word right now is dehydrate, but as a verb. Example: If this heat wave does not end soon, I am going to dehydrate. If I do not carry a water bottle with me at all times, it is inevitable that I will soon dehydrate. If the Don’t Worry Darling controversies go on any longer, we will all dehydrate from the sweat and stress of having to hear about Olivia Wilde more than once a month. So, yeah, dehydrate. Second favorite word is sombrero.
Well, everybody! The day has arrived. Exactly one year ago today, I moved to New York. Two bags, no furniture, no apartment, no job — only a plane ticket to Laguardia and a dream: to work a retail job in New York City. A whole year! I called my mom before writing this and asked her if she knew what today was, and she replied, “August 28 … 1963 is when Martin Luther King Jr. said his I Have A Dream speech and my mom wanted to go see the speech but her mom said no.” So now that Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech from almost 60 years ago is overshadowing my year anniversary in New York, I just wanna say that my mom is available to join anyone’s trivia team.
But yes, it’s been a whole year! Let’s take a look at some of the experiences I’ve had since arriving:
We begin where it began. In my first few weeks, I stayed with my aunt in Midtown and my friends in Williamsburg as I searched for a place to work and a place to live.
Luckily, my family originates in New York, so I had some family members showing me the ropes on how to be a kiddo in this concrete jungle right away. If you ever need someone to give you the correct city tour to help you acclimate to this new, busy environment, hire a kid who grew up there; they know all the ins and outs better than anybody. But you can only hire them for four hours because of child labor laws, so I hired my cousin Julian to hang out with me at the park for a short but informative amount of time.
Soon after you move to a new city, you become a host to anyone you know who comes to visit. And by anyone you know, I mean your family. YOU are now the adult in this city, and YOU are responsible for the experience your family gets. That means your dad gets to sleep in a bed and your mom gets to sleep in the room with the air conditioner and your brother sleeps on the couch and you sleep in the bathtub. Don’t complain! It’s only for a week, and you needed a wake-up call anyway; you’re acting a little too comfy with your life in New York, and you need to be set straight. Perhaps a few nights sleeping in the bathtub will do that for you.
During these first several months, I had a job at W*rby P*rk*r, where I didn’t get healthcare, but I did get a free pair of glasses. There, I gained new New York friends and merged some of them with my old New York friends. And then when I left W*rby P*rk*r, I went to B*ggu and forced everyone there to be my friends, too! It’s important to like the environment you work in and the people you work with, okay? The only way to make sure that happens is to force friendships.
The first place I briefly left New York for after moving here was Maine, which felt like the right place to go since it’s the complete opposite of the Big ol Apple. More like the Big ol Lobstah! No? Whatever, it’s staying. Not much cell service, more trees than people, and a part of the ocean that is much cleaner than the Rockaways. Every day in this city since I moved here has been busy, even when there was nothing to do. So being in Maine for 48 hours was a breath of fresh air, and time was able to stop for a moment. Everyone needs that sometimes.
After the new year, things got busier and busier. There were always things to do, and if you weren’t doing anything, this city was really good at throwing that FOMO in your face. I couldn’t sit still, and I still feel this way. If I went to lie down and watch a show, I would get up a moment later and go for a run or see if a friend was free or something. I also think the pandemic has made me this way. Not being able to do ANYTHING has caused me to always want to do things all the time now. Never say no to a plan. Don’t let that anxiety cause you to miss out on a cool opportunity! Never sleep! And while I do feel that everything I’ve done so far has been fun and worth it, I do need to sleep more. And I need to hydrate and not dehydrate (that was a circle back, ladies and gentleladies). And during a recession? It’s probably best to just stay inside and finish your shows, rather than spend money you don’t have, Kerry.
I’m not going to mention all of the things I’ve done in the past few months because I already did that in past newsletters, but the music festivals and shows and trips have all been experiences that I’ll cherish and appreciate from my first year living away from Chicago for more than four months. And I want them all to continue in the coming years, as well. Because I hope to — I plan to — I am living in New York for as long as I can until I’m not, and I want the 20s that I didn’t miss out on (at the beginning of this pandemic) to be well worth the years. One year of preparing for what’s to come feels just about right. Next up, the years here will get harder, but they’ll also get more comfy, and the experiences will make me grow even more. I’ve only had one concussion since arriving, and I still know what day it is, so there’s only more to remember in my future.
A quick thank you to everyone who encouraged me to move here. All of you look under your seats because there’s an I Love NY t-shirt and a slice of pizza! Both are delicious.
And to Cher: thank you for always having the words I need when I don’t have them. I wish I could think of a better way to thank you and everyone else, but I just can’t think of anything. Any ideas?
No, that’s not what I’m trying to say.
There we go. Live NY, Laugh NY, Love NY! See you next week!
Oh, wait!
movie rec: Se7en
music rec: The Beatles Revolver album
book rec: Hello, Molly! by Molly Shannon