New York... Bye, Bye New York!...

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Dear NY,

I do love you tho.

... and I'm grateful... very grateful.

Since I was a little girl, my dream was to live in the city that never sleeps, where everything is beautiful and where all dreams come true. I left my country, Venezuela, on August 2015 to pursue a career in Fashion Business at FIT. It wasn't easy, you see, I have never been the best at making new friends and leaving my family was no piece of cake. Luckily, I was moving in with my aunt and uncle who are basically my second set of parents.

The first few weeks, I thought my life was going to be walks through Times Square every day, book-reading under the Statue of Liberty, picnics with my girls in Central Park... all very glamorous. Guess what? That didn't happen and I got SICK of the crowded places lol! I became a member of the group that avoids touristy places at all costs. Now, some say that's when you can call yourself a true New Yorker but, isn't that kind of sad? Aren't you supposed to be in love, or at least happy in the place you call home? Don't get me wrong, I do love the city (God! NY is gorgeous!) but, I just wasn't feeling like I would ever be completely happy there.

The reality is that the city of my dreams became just the place where I had to be until graduation. My family had moved to Florida and my one objective became: work so that paycheck becomes a plane ticket every summer and Christmas time. It was such a love-hate relationship! I mean, on one side, I had this feeling of "OMG I live in NY and it's all such a dream and everything is so beautiful!" and, on the other, I was like "THIS IS CRAZY, SOMEBODY TAKE MY OUT OF HERE!"

Of course, there is a very long list of positive and incredible things that happened to me in NY and, this post in NOT to discourage anyone from doing whatever they feel like doing. This is merely a way for me to share my experience and the way I felt, hoping, if there's somebody out there feeling like I did, they can see that everything can and will get better. NY gave me unforgettable memories of places I had never been to before; many, many laughs; amazing work and internship opportunities; the chance to meet incredible people; a second career and, even a fiancé. It just wasn't for me, at least for now (who knows, maybe I'll go back).

Right now, I'm in Florida, waiting for dinner to be ready while we all talk and laugh like we used to do. I am uncertain of the future, I won't lie but, I am HAPPY and CALM.

I want to keep sharing my NY stories, mostly so they can be used as a way to inspire you to try new things, or to do that you've been wanting to do for a long time. They can even be used to prove me wrong and tell me how different your experience was, either way whatever it is you want to do, just do it! Even if it means moving to NY ;)!

Love,

Lydi