"If I can make it here, I'll make it anywhereeeee.."

Ever get in those "only in NY" kinda moods?

Sometimes, especially after spending some time outside of the magical city (recently I have been in LI, RI and Buffalo, NY) I find myself momentarily questioning what the "expletive deleted" I am doing here? Why am I putting up with the crowds and the subways and the $12 deli sandwiches and the fast-paced, high priced lifestyle? Then I give myself a minute and remember why millions of people come to NYC from every part of the world. They come here to "make it." To achieve their dreams and be someone. To make a better life for themselves, to experience the things that only NYC has to offer and to feel the pulse of the city where truly *anything* is possible. Then I remind myself that growing up on LI I always imagined myself breezing through the city streets passing celebrities and bums and whatever else may be in my path, and being a confident, independent and successful career women. This fantasy also included a strange desire to be one of those ladies that wore skirt suits with Easy Spirit walking shoes on the train and then changed into heels at the office but that part of the dream has thankfully been abandoned. Then I think about all the people that came here with nothing-literally nothing-the people who may have risked their lives to seek opportunity here, the people who may be sleeping on a dirty mattress in a room with 10 other people just to have the chance to wash dishes here. The people long ago who came through Ellis Island and what the Statue of Liberty meant to them...OK so this post is now taking a really cheesy turn but you get the drift...

For every one of us who sometimes feels worn out just trying to make it here, for those who are waiting for the day that they can say "I have arrived," and for those of us loving every minute of it, this post is for you. I would love to hear how other people living in this crazy, beautiful, but sometimes overwhelming city get over than occasional *freak out* feeling. Let me know!

Until then, queue Sinatra...

Epiphany in the Nail Salon...

The other day I was getting my eyebrows waxed when I had a mini life-changing moment--I realized I was at that age that your mother is referring to when she says,"You'll see when your older." Well you're right mom, I finally "see!"

So back when I was young and "wild," I got my eyebrow pierced in a short-lived phase of being an "alterna-chic." The phase lasted maybe 6 months, until I realized I couldn't skateboard and the eyebrow ring was becoming more of an eyesore than anything else. Flash forward now almost 10 years as the kindly women doing my brows noticed my scar and asked if I had gotten injured there. I laughed and told her that it was from an eyebrow ring I once thought was cool and she began to tell me about her 19 year-old daughter who just got a tattoo. I had sort of this outer body experience where I found myself telling the women how her daughter will realize when she's older that her mom was very wise and that a Chinese symbol on the back of your neck may seem cool now, but probably won't look very cool with your wedding dress or in 50 years when your old and saggy. I think I even said something like, "have her call me, I'll talk some sense into her."

As I walked home from the nail salon, I realized I was no longer in the stage of my life where I can blame my age or my naivety for my actions. From now on, I have no excuses for rash decisions and I will be held fully accountable for my choices. Kind of a scary thought for an admittedly impulsive risk-taker. But I also realized that I had grown up a lot since my eyebrow ring days. Although I'm still more impulsive than I am cautious, and would probably still be considered a bit "free-spirited" by some, I think that I definitely have made some strides in the "stopping to think things through" category.