Well… I just left NYC. I said farewell for now to the city that won my heart over, that occasionally confused me about my loyalty to it in the harshness of the winter, that recaptured my love the moment spring started to emerge, and the city that proved to me it had the ability to make me grow and mature more in one year than I could have possibly imagined.
A few very special things happened while I was in New York. I met some of the kindest, most inspiring people I have ever known, and I also grew unbelievably close to the friends who were already in my life before I moved. I think New York has that quality to it – your friends become your family rather quickly. It’s partially because our real families are all so far away, but there is more to it than that.
We are all in the city for a reason. New York draws in a certain type of personality; a certain type of person at a certain stage in their life—someone who is motivated, inspired and driven to chase their dreams and isn’t afraid to get ripped out of their comfort zone. (Yes, ripped… there is nothing light and airy about the growth that happens in NYC.)
Sure, there were hard days. Many! There were days it was 7 degrees outside and the snow burned my face red for days. There were nights that Katie was out of town and the only thing in the world I wanted to do was fly home, crawl into bed with my parents and stay there forever. There was the time I realized that grad school wasn’t for me and I felt entirely out of place and at a standstill. And of course there was the time we had mice living in our apartment (oh wait, that was always).
There were amazing days too – days that I roamed the streets for hours, wrote my heart out in sidewalk cafes and ate every meal of the day alone at a different adorable organic restaurant. I learned to be completely okay with being alone and to trust myself to be my own friend… to take more than ten steps outside without feeling the need to call someone or try to meet up with a friend.
I learned that spontaneity is healthy, that people who are too extreme give me anxiety and I don’t need them in my life, and I learned that Saturday nights laying in bed watching Orange is the New Black and pinning food photos to Pinterest can be just as fun as a night out at a club on the Lower East Side. I surrounded myself with people who accepted me unconditionally and supported my choices.
I learned that it’s quite easy to stay in touch with people who are truly meant to be in your life, and that a good 3-hour catch up sesh with one of your besties across the country can sometimes be the best medicine. I also learned that people come through New York constantly – that it’s a hub for anything and everything cultural and awesome, and that the city has a wild way of connecting people who may not have been close in another city or another type of city.
I also learned profound things about myself that I had been in denial about for a long time – that while health is and should be a priority to me, it was taking over my life in an unhealthy way. The obsessions and difficulties I was dealing with all through the winter (and for years before, but very much intensified in the last six months or so) could be attributed to a rapidly developing eating disorder. I learned that I had developed a whole host of unhealthy habits to deal with the “WTF” period in my life.
And, in the last couple of weeks, I learned something I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Good people, people who understand their own truths and are happy in their own skin, will always support those whom they care about and they will always stand up for what they believe in. The positivity I have been shown by all of you lovely souls since my “coming out” post on the blog two weeks ago, through the GMA and Nightline filming and the vicious attacks from the “vegan police,” has left me utterly astounded and happy as hell to be alive and sharing this lovely world with all of you.
I learned that people who are unhappy and insecure with their own choices will do anything in their power to judge and to make their voices heard. And I’ve learned NOT to pay attention to them, because their negativity isn’t worth my time or energy. There’s no reasoning with people who make no sense, and even though it’s kind of fun to laugh at the wild things they say (such as: “I’m going to barbecue your family”… excuse me?) it’s also very worth it to ignore their ridiculousness entirely. All they want is a response and a rise.
I am SO EXCITED to walk you through the thrilling few days of filming for GMA and Nightline with ABC news and the incredible Juju Chang, but for now I will show ya the clip that aired on Wednesday morning (best day of my life) for anyone who missed it!!!
CLICK HERE to watch!!
Now, I’m back in California and I simply can’t wait to share so many things with you!!! A) GMA & Nightline deets, B) I cannot WAIT to share my “A Year in Photos” post on the bloggy about my year in NYC, C) I have some fun giveaways, product reviews and recipes to share, D) Now that I’m home I can finally get to work on the app (YAY), and E) I am going to be doing some fun filming with the talented Morgan Oliver-Allen for the yoga section of the blog.
Another thing I learned: while I am highly addicted to the internet and all things social media (hello, I’m a full-time blogger!), I am much more addicted to PEOPLE and the real human connection of having a fabulous face-to-face conversation, frolicking around fun cities with people that I love and sharing happiness with the people I care about.
Thinking about the friends I’ve left in New York brings me to tears… (especially my sissy), but they all know that they are in my heart always and forever and this is only the beginning of our beautiful life adventure together.
And now I get to spend some long-awaited time with my family. I haven’t written about this on the blog, but it’s been a rough year for my fam… and being back here with them is the greatest blessing I could ask for right now.
TBV is BACK in the blogosphere, babes!! It was a brief but whirlwind hiatus, and I think all the excitement of last week was a pretty good excuse. 😉
How the heck are all of you?! What have I missed? Any particularly fun posts that I missed out on while I skipped out on blogtown for the week? Share anything and everything with me. I’ve missed you all! Xox