My Great Adventure

Here it is. My last full day in New England before opening a new chapter in New York City. 

As fast as summer was, it was chock full of craziness. Mostly good, some bad, but all worth it. I retired my green apron for good. It was bittersweet because I now no longer get a discount on Starbucks coffee (whomp, whomp) but it only leaves room for my new job in the city. I guess that’s part of the give and take. I have a full-term lease to sign come monday for an apartment that I love. While the original hunt consisted of running the numbers and going to see random listings on Craigslist, it ultimately came time for me to bite the bullet and meet with a broker. I had no intention of paying a broker’s fee when I started out, but after finding a brand new apartment in Hamilton Heights, knowing that I will be one of the first three to live there made it worth it. I am a fully registered graduate student (WITH A BACHELOR’S DEGREE!!!) at the Actors Studio Drama School. I’ve even ordered my first set of books, which naturally will be delivered to my new address. It’s all lined up. It’s official. 

This is a surreal experience. For the majority of the past 6 years, I’ve gone from here to there to school to another continent and back. I’ve not once really settled in somewhere only because I knew that I’d be moving again. And yet, here I am, about to dive head-first into what will be one of the most amazing rides of my academic and professional careers. This time, I’ll have a real home and not just a bed in a dorm room. This isn’t some pseudo-move that will ultimately end in me throwing my things into a suitcase minutes before my parents arrive to pick me up to take me home. I am actually moving and starting my life in New York. It’s terrifying and exhilarating and the blank canvas that I need. When I set foot in New York, I will in essence be starting completely over. Sure, I have friends in the city since I lived there for three years off and on. I have memories at certain bookstores and coffee shops and Urban Outfitters. But it’s still new. I’ll be meeting fresh faces and immersing myself into the wild community that is New York City theatre. I can focus on my goals instead of just surviving through countless Gen Eds that result in notebooks full of doodles in the margins. I can put my total focus into the end goal.

The next three years will be full of growth and change. If you had asked me three years ago where I’d be, I would not have said that any of this would be happening. And I like it that way. The life I had planned was boring and safe and placed me at a desk answering phones or in a court room translating the same conversation 19 times. But this life is the life I’ve wanted since 5 years old. I cannot wait to get my hands dirty and soak my brain in knowledge of the theatre. I am more than anxious to step out onto a stage again for the first time in 4 years. I can’t wait to set roots in one place and actually call New York my home. As scared as I may be about paying rent, keeping my grades up, or getting a job after I’m done, I’m choosing to focus on the fact that I’ve already gotten this far; there’s no reason to stop now.

So, here we go. It’s going to be crazy. It’s going to be wild. It’s going to be amazing.