It’s official! I’m starting my new year in a new city. After graduating college in a just a couple of weeks, I’ll be moving to New York! The ‘concrete jungle where dreams our made of’, the city that inspired Taylor Swift to write an entire 80’s synth album, the Big Apple. The list goes on and on…This is the city that makes or breaks people and it’s about to become my home.

I’ve fantasized about living in the city since I was little girl. I’ve always thought I was “too big” for my small town. Too ambitious, too honest, y’know, your typical pre-teen angst. I wanted to live somewhere where I could actualize my dreams and the residents and I shared a similar walking pace, haha.

I remember writing a letter to my future self when I was about 11 years old. I mapped out a very clear path for myself. Move to NYC, host Good Morning America, become a pop star and marry Justin Timberlake. One out of four ain’t bad! I’ve accepted a television production gig with a major network and cannot wrap my head around the fact that at just 21 years old, my life goals are becoming my reality.

It’s not my first rodeo with the city that brought us The Naked Cowboy. I have a few extended family members who live in New York and I visit them every year or so. Two summers ago, I interned in the city for three months. I also spent about six months working in Washington D.C., so this Florida girl is quite familiar with fifth floor walkups, crowded metros and off-site laundry.

As excited as I should be, I can’t be happy just yet. Now that I’ll be out of school and employed, I’ll have to find a place of my own. The second I was offered my job, instead of taking a moment celebrate, I immediately started my housing search. Roomster, Craigslist, Facebook…my eyes actually hurt because of how much time I spend staring at my computer screen. Everything I can afford is far from where I need to be and still slightly over my budget. I get it, this is New York. It ain’t cheap. BUT, as a *soon-to-be* recent grad with a low bank account, it seems like the only way to really enjoy the city and live a quality life, is to have an endless supply of money at your disposal. I don’t need much to be happy, but I do want to be able to make rent and feed myself and that will not be possible without a houseful of roommates. I will be going from living alone and relying on my car to selling said car and most likely sharing a room with someone. Talk about life transitions!

I cannot let myself get discouraged. I have to actively remind myself that in order to make it in my industry, New York is the place to be. It’s where I’ve always wanted to be. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I can’t pass up. It’s time for me to trade in my flip-flops for boots, because this Florida girl is becoming a city girl! Here’s to new beginnings, roommates that hopefully become family and pursuing my dreams full force.

“Ships in harbor are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” – John. Shedd

 

Wish me luck,

Ebony

Words to live by. At least for the Buddha. Hundreds of Buddhism practitioners and spectators alike gathered in Sydney’s Darling Harbor on May 11^th and 12^th  for the 19^th annual Buddha’s Birthday Festival.

 

Whether you’re part of the 99% or 1%, many Americans can recall the Occupy Wall street protests that took place in 2011 in Zuccotti Park, near New York City’s Wall street Financial District. Though some have forgotten the protesters’ cries for social and economic equality, one thing clear, Occupy is not over, and it is not confined to the United States.

I’m in Sydney, Australia. It’s been an eventful a day, and I’m experiencing quite the jetlag, BUT I am excited to start my first independent journey outside of the States.