Hello my lovely humans who follow Zany Lady!! We are in week 3 of living in NYC, and man, is it an adventure. There is truly never a dull moment.
If I’m being honest with you, I have’t had quite as much writing inspiration for the blog since I started my full time job as a copywriter. I began to write a long, detailed, fun piece about all of the crazy things that happened while I moved here (and there were a lot), but then I started my job and couldn’t find inspiration to finish it. Now it feels a little irrelevant to tell moving stories, seeing as though I’ve been moved in for 3 weeks.
Anyway, I’m going to try my best to keep up the blog. It probably won’t be as frequent as it has been in the past (ya girl is a little more busy in this phase of life), BUT alas, Zany Lady is still alive and well.
I’ve always said that my life resembles a romantic comedy, and now I feel that more than ever. Small town girl finally makes it to the big city (trying her best to navigate adult things like paying bills and not freaking out when I talk to cute boys). I get to go into work everyday and write copy for national ads. I get to collaborate with designers and art directors and producers. I get to experience thousands of strangers a day who all have their own lives, their own stories.
I was afraid that moving to New York, the place I’ve dreamed of living since I was a sassy 8-year-old bossing my friends around wearing hot pink polka dot high heels, would somehow be a let-down. It’s sort of like when you finally meet your celebrity crush/idol and realize they’re a normal human and feel disappointed (tbh, I kind of feel that way about meeting Taylor Swift, although I would totally suck it up just to hang out with her backstage at her concert).
That being said, I anticipated feeling some sort of melancholy related to the fact that New York might not be as great as I dreamed it in my head. It’s quite scary packing your life up and moving permanently to a place you’ve never actually lived. I’ve visited NYC a million times growing up, but I’ve never been there for more than a weekend. Who knows if I would like it? I might get there and realize that I hate city living and want to move somewhere else.
I’m happy to inform you, that sassy 8-year-old was correct. She had a gut instinct about this magical city, and (so far) has been true.
I love everything about this crazy city. The food, the culture, the shops, the endless amount of activity going on. I even love my commute on the subway (except when I get food poisoning and throw up all over myself while commuting to work– but that’s another story.)
I love my apartment (once you get up all 5 flights of stairs). I’m living with my bestest friend since college and her angel baby French Bulldog. We have a light pink, velvet couch that makes me happy every time I look at it. We also have a house plant that matches the exact pink in the couch (meant to be, I guess). We have a kitchen table that always has fresh flowers sitting in the center. We have a teeny tiny kitchen that barely fits one person, but somehow we manage to fit two people and a dog in there.
My room is a lovely oasis of white, terra cotta and greenery. I tried to design the space with a minimalistic mind, in order to create a calm, safe space for myself. I love coming home every evening and soaking up solitude in my space.
It’s emotional (in the best way) to finally be living the life I’ve wanted to live. I’m living in my dream city, pursuing the career I’ve longed to do, creating a life for myself that seems almost too good to be true. I’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs in my life. I’ve felt discontent in most places. I’ve felt like I don’t belong in the places I called home. I’ve let toxic people into my life, and even worse, let them stay there for far too long. I’ve questioned and doubted my dreams, my abilities, my future. I’ve wanted to give up when things got really hard.
But God is good. Even though I’ve made countless mistakes and doubted every ounce of my being, I’m still here. I’m living my life to the absolute fullest, and soaking up every minute of it.
I want to encourage you to do the same, whatever that might look like. If you have a dream of pursuing a career that is different than what your parents or your friends are doing, go for it. If you want to move to a place that might sound insane and people won’t understand your decision, do it. Life is too short to compromise your dreams. Whatever they are, they are valid, and they are possible. You can do literally anything you put your mind to. Don’t settle for what is expected of you.
Well, I hope you enjoyed my “follow your dreams” ted talk. It’s something I’m really passionate about, and I’m so thankful I found the inspiration to finally put it into words. I will for sure take all of you on this crazy, scary, beautiful, magical journey I am on. Thank you for wanting to listen to my story.
Until next time,
xoxo
Zany Lady 