A few weeks ago I schlepped all my belongings up 5 avenues to my new home in the Upper East. After nearly two years (TWO YEARS!) of breaking myself in to New York life living with 2 roommates, it was time to carve out a little space of my own. I'll miss coming home to them and lamenting about the work day, the weather, the old lady who bullied me out of my seat at the bagel shop (yes, that happened) and so on. I'll certainly miss our Bachelorette watch parties and I don't think the 3 of us will ever forget the horror of watching election night unfold before our eyes as we sat stunned on our petite sofa. There is something so comforting about sharing a space with 2 other people when you're fresh in a new city. If you ever move somewhere new, especially to New York, I highly recommend it. I moved here when I needed big changes in my life, a fresh start, new inspiration, and new challenges, and I'm happy to report the city has not left me disappointed. I feel that I've already lived a thousand lives in the past 22 months and I've grown immensely as a person. I've toughened up but also softened up, if that's even possible. I've worked alongside some of the most talented designers and watched in awe as they created magical spaces seemingly out of fairy dust, and in the process I've learned how to look at the world with new eyes.
{photo of my 1st NY bedroom, taken by Sean Litchfield, more photos to share soon}
I've at times felt scared, elated, lonely, stunned, in love, at peace, energized.... but most of all transformed. I've had lots of time to examine my 20s, to heal and to grow and to relax and honestly to laugh at the sometimes absurd experience of life. There have been countless "Is this really my life?" special moments, and I'm writing them all down in a journal to keep track of them so maybe I can document them here one day.
“...quite simply, I was in love with New York. I do not mean “love” in any colloquial way, I mean that I was in love with the city, the way you love the first person who ever touches you and you never love anyone quite that way again. I remember walking across Sixty-second Street one twilight that first spring, or the second spring, they were all alike for a while. I was late to meet someone but I stopped at Lexington Avenue and bought a peach and stood on the corner eating it and knew that I had come out out of the West and reached the mirage.” - Joan Didion
New York... I'm not tired of you yet, not in the least.
XOXO,
Sam