“People go to L.A. to ‘find themselves.’ They come to New York to become someone new.”
I had this conversation with a friend of mine a couple months ago. He knew New York fairly well, and he was planning on moving there after graduation. I told him I was jealous he got to leave Athens to live there, because I had heard New York City was so much fun. And he responded by telling me, "It's awesome, don't get me wrong. But New York isn't like Athens. It's not that easy. You have to make an effort to have a good time." It made sense. But I didn't really understand what he was saying until this weekend.
I am a "no" person. If someone asks me to do something and I wasn't already thinking I wanted to do it, odds are my answer is going to be no. The mere act of someone asking me is not usually enough for me to change my mind, no matter who's asking or what it is they're asking me to do. Don't get me wrong, I love adventuring. I love to go places and do things and leave my comfort zone behind for awesomeness. But I do what I want, when I want to do it. Not when I feel obliged to say "yes" to a person.
New York City can seriously run you down. The pace is fast, the hours are long, and there are a million people here, but you really only have like three friends. I was sitting on my bed at the end of my week and I realized how very much I just wanted to go to sleep. It was 9:00 on a Friday, and I was ready to say "no" to whatever was being planned for the evening. I was just so tired (as I so eloquently illustrated to you in Chapter 6). But right as I was about to take my makeup off and go to bed, I remembered that conversation with my friend. "You have to make an effort to have a good time." A.K.A, Katy, you have to say yes. Even when you don't feel like it. Especially when you don't feel like it. "Yes" is an important word here. "Yes" is the reason New York is New York. This city waits for no one. And everyone here is tired, but the ones who go out and make awesome things happen and have incredible lives are the ones who say "yes" anyways, despite the tiredness.
This weekend, I wanted to say "no" about eight times. But I didn't. I said "yes" instead. And here's what happened to me: I made friends with UVA people when I went out to watch the Warriors game on Friday. I visited a gay (male) karaoke bar in Greenwich Village and I ended up meeting some awesome networking connections in the advertising field. Saturday was spent window shopping and exploring street festivals with my roomie. We attended (cough cough crashed cough) a Gatsby birthday party in a speakeasy in Midtown, and it was one of the swankiest, funnest nights of my entire life. Sunday I got brunch with my big before heading over to Brooklyn to eat the best chicken and waffles I've ever had. I attended a block party with DJs and water guns. Also met Alexa Chung. That night I went to church in Bushwick and it felt like home to me.
Sunday night, my mom asked me on the phone if I had a good weekend. I said "yes."
And as of last Friday at 9:00pm, I am actively making an effort to say that word a little more while I'm here. Because being tired sucks and "no" is easy, but "yes" can change your life, especially in a place like New York City.