Happy Tuesday to all! So I’ve hit a bit of a milestone today, for it marks six months that I've been living in New York! Wow, time really flies by when you are caught up in the hustle of city life; wasn’t it just Christmas yesterday? When I arrived here on October 11 of last year, it was a beautiful, sunny fall day; I was a wearing shorts (typical Florida boy move), my eyes were wide open for adventure, and I felt happy for the first time in a while. That night I quietly celebrated in my apartment with Tiger over a slice of pizza (he got the crust), and then cuddled with him on the floor in his dog bed (I didn't have my own bed yet), but that didn’t matter at all to me because I was exactly where I wanted to be.
View from my apartment window
Today has been a beautiful, sunny spring day; it's finally warm enough to wear shorts again (I’m still wearing pants though so I guess I'm becoming a real New Yorker), and my eyes are still wide open for adventure, but they have gained some knowledge of big city life. To be honest, it’s been one crazy ride of ups and downs thus far. I've realized this city is not a joke, and it is definitely not for the weak hearted. It can make you feel all different types of ways, and everything can quickly change in a New York minute (cue the song). Over the past six months, I’ve been fortunate, misfortunate, and then some in between. I’ve experienced extreme emotional highs on certain days or at certain moments, and then have been mentally worn down during others. I've encountered a few triumphs here and there, with many shades of rejection all around. To sum it up, if you want to ride one big roller coaster of emotions just move here!
Writing this blog made me think of the quote from the ending scene of the move Blow.
“Sometimes you're flush and sometimes you're bust, and when you're up, it's never as good as it seems, and when you're down, you never think you'll be up again, but life goes on.”
In relation, there have been moments where I've been down to the point where thoughts of quitting have crept into my mind from feeling alone, lost, or defeated, but somehow I always find a way to push past those thoughts; I don't know how to quit. During those times I remind myself that it was my choice to come here and seize this new life, not anyone else's. I could have played it safe and comfortable back in Florida, but I wanted a new challenge and I'll be damned if I let a little adversity break me. Although I’ve learned how to survive here over this period of time, I didn’t come here to just survive. I came here with a goal to thrive, and that is what I will continue striving for.
I will end with another quote that has been stuck in my mind since I first heard the song. It is by Big Sean, and called No Favors.
"Everything is a blessing, depending on the angles"
It really is the way you look at things that makes all the difference in life. One thing that hasn't changed since day one is that I still feel blessed each day to be here, and even more so now with all the new people I've met, opportunities I've been given, struggles I've pushed through, and things I've been able to accomplish thus far. So stay positive and keep grinding out there, because I know I'm definitely not going to stop!
