Happy Friday y’all! I am beyond happy that we are finally to the weekend. This week definitely went on and on, and I’m ready for a fun weekend ahead. I’m sharing another “Top 5” post since I started my new series for Friday’s based on lifestyle in NYC. Today I’m sharing my top 5 life lessons I’ve learned (about myself) from living in NYC. I think regardless where you live and how old you are, you’re always going to constantly be changing. If I had to look myself in the mirror a year ago, I would probably laugh at how much I’ve changed. I honestly don’t know if I can say I’m more mature, but I’ve definitely grown into myself more since living in NYC. Living here almost forces you to grow up. You have to be an adult, aware of your surroundings and just straight up hustle to make it here. From a combination of blogging full time when I first moved here, to working full time for the last seven months and everything in between, here are the top 5 life lessons I’ve learned about myself from living in NYC:
1. Learning to stand up for myself. One big thing about me is that I’m basically a doormat in terms of being a people pleaser. I don’t like hurting peoples feelings, I don’t like offending anyone and I definitely don’t like stepping on peoples toes. The biggest thing that living in New York has taught me is learning to stand up for myself. Most of my friends are super confrontational, or at least those that live in the city are, and I’ve always been the one to sit back and avoid conflict. I’ve learned that if someone is going to call me out, I’m going to say something back to stick up for myself. If someone tries to blame me for something that I had nothing to do with, I don’t think twice to say it wasn’t me. I can’t really get into specifics, but it has definitely been aware at work, in friendships and dealing with business aspects.
2. Learning my self-worth. I don’t want to say that I’ve ever lacked this, but there’s been instances where I haven’t really seen the potential that my friends and family see. The instances that I’ve had within the past year in New York have really made me realize my self worth and just how valuable I can be to a team, to a friend, to a brand, etc. Knowing my self-worth has helped stream my confidence, again not something that I’ve lacked, but just something I never really thought about before living in the city. This ties together with job applications back last summer where I knew I wouldn’t be valued or utilizing my ability to it’s fullest potential, to meeting people who try to doubt you.
3. Learning to be confident. I think New York really taught me this my sophomore year of college when I first interned here and I never looked back. Confidence is key, especially in a big city. I’m literally horrible at making eye contact or talking to someone I don’t know very well one-on-one, and this city kind of forces that out of you. When I started working and we had our press day I had to work check in, I felt so nervous just from being in the presence of these big name editors that I kept stuttering and saying awkward things. Now, seven months later I’m able to hold a conversation with them, know who they are when they walk in, and can just smile and say hi-all while making eye contact. I may just be awkward in general, but letting that little bit of my guard down has been such a major life lesson for me. That may be something so minute, but for me it’s been such a big deal because it will help me in interviews, meeting guys when we’re out, and just making new friends.
4. Learning to embrace blogging. In Norman I was always slightly embarrassed of blogging. It wasn’t a “normal” thing to do, and it took my friends awhile to get used to seeing solo shots of me on Instagram all of the time. Now it’s such a normal thing in the city, it doesn’t even feel weird to stop what everyone is doing to snap a photo by a cool wall or pretty backdrop. I’m not embarrassed to tell someone that I blog and the greatest part is that people find it cool (for the most part). In the past almost-year of living here I’ve really learned to embrace this aspect of my life and in turn I’ve grown so much more (as a person) and with my blog.
5. Learning to hold good friends closer. Living in the city is so different than living in a college town. I have my best friend from high school, best friend from college, and best friend from blogging here with me, as well as the additional pals I’ve met once I moved here. I have a great, big group of rowdy friends that I always have a great time with, and love hanging out with, but living in NYC has definitely given me a greater appreciation for good friends. One night I had my phone stolen and I was out and alone on Lower East Side, that sentence right there will probably get me a phone call from my Nana or my Mom haha. Had I not been with good friends who I can depend on, and who care about my well being you never know what could happen in the city. I’m not saying NYC is like Law and Order SVU, but there are those creeps out there and you can never be too careful. It’s so important to surround yourself with people you can trust, people who care about you and dependable people. I know I can count on each of my friends here in NYC.
So there you have it, my top 5 life lessons I’ve learned about myself since I moved to NYC. This post was a little more personal than most, so if this is something you want to see more of please let me know! I’ve had a ton of requests for more personal things, so I’m happy to share whatever you would like to hear! Have a great day and thanks for reading!