“In New York, they like winners. They don’t like second place.”
Round two: Today I found the dining hall before 8:00am. I might have spilled my drink and tripped over a chair in front of everyone, but my oatmeal was free. I aced the subway and accidentally got to work 30 minutes early. I completed my first design project for Nickelodeon International (!!!). I ventured to the Bronx and watched a soccer match be played on a famous baseball field. I met up with old friends and made new plans for the weekend.
I don't plan to write on this blog every single day, but I plan to write whenever I feel something relevant has happened to me. Given that I'm in New York City, that could be every single day. But that could also mean that I don't write for a few days at a time. Today, I spent a solid forty five minutes on a subway that was packed so tight it was actually uncomfortable to breathe. While stuffed on a subway car on the way to the Bronx with a hundred other strangers, I noticed something. Some of the people in that car make more than I might make in my entire lifetime. They're dripping in diamonds and gold and designer names. Others around me probably make less than I have in my pocket. Their eyes don't leave the floor, they hold plastic grocery bags full of their belongings, and they speak in tongues I do not recognize. So many people and languages and backgrounds packed into this tiny little space. But I love the way we all sway the same way to the curves of the subway. Life can hit everyone the same; life doesn't care who you are.
I also love the way some strangers take to other strangers, and make friends with people who might only cross their path for five or ten minutes out of their lifetime. Striking up a conversation with someone they're shoulder to shoulder with on a commute. It's such a small thing, but it's so big. People told me that New York is a cruel place and that it will make me harder. Less gentle. Less caring, "Katy, you're going to come home with that New York City attitude." But there is humanity in the people I pass on the street. Everyone in New York is by themselves, but no one is ever truly alone. It is the common misconception to believe that New Yorkers are all cutthroat, but I have glances on the street, neighborhood dogs, and conversations on the subway that say otherwise.
NYCFC lost, in case you were wondering (about the professional soccer league in New York that I didn't know existed before today). We root root rooted for the home team in the Yankees stadium, but it did no good. Good news is, tomorrow is Friday. Which means the start of my first weekend in the city. And I think that one's definitely going to be a win.