I had wanted to live in New York City my entire life. Sure I bet movies had something to do with that --- how they made it look so glamorous, filled with so much opportunity, and where I believed dreams came true.
I had the opportunity to intern in NYC right after college. I only knew one person, was taking a job in an industry that I learned nothing about in college (but it excited me), and it was almost as far away from home aka my security blanket as I could get. However, life is all about risks to follow dreams, right?
I had the best summer of my life. I met a group of girls that were so kind and had a great roommate who did everything with me -- truly got lucky to have been surrounded by such great people. I loved my mentor at the job I took... she called me the Arnold Schwarzenegger to her Danny Devito since I am tall and she is short and I knew we were the perfect match at that moment. I learned how to be on my own too. I made some mistakes when first riding the subway that resulted in me going WAY further than I needed to go. Also, I got lost a few times until I figured out how the streets worked... I literally walked across to the other side of NYC in the middle of the night after going out. Best of all, there was always something going on in NYC.
Despite how much fun I had, I still went home to Arizona at the end of the summer instead of taking a full time job there. I did still work for the same company in Arizona so it worked out, but why go home if NYC was my dream?
Simple: It wasn't my dream anymore. I realized I loved the mountains. I loved being able to be outdoors and smell fresh air. I loved being able to get dinner with friends and not have it spend a fortune. I loved being close to family.
The best part - I am able to look back & have no regrets that I didn't at least try to live in NYC. I pursued a dream and realized what I wanted had changed. Sometimes, life does change our paths, and we have to roll with it and be ok with that change. :)
Happy Saturday everyone!
Steepshot |
Much respect on the decision girl! Sometimes hard decisions can feel like your taking one step back, but sometimes you have to take one step back to get a few steps ahead in life. I would have done the same, give me outdoors over city life any day. Love that your using steepshot! Thanks for showing me 😊
I couldn't agree more with that! I also think a big struggle for me is worrying about what people think, but I'm continuously learning to not care or concern myself with those people who judge. :) And right?! Outdoors > Big City any day!
Also you're very welcome! It's easy and simple to use especially when I just want to get some thoughts out!
For me this entire thing has been therapeutic! From creating content i cry over to getting positive reinforcement from all of you!
You have already demonstrated your freedom from other's expectations when you consulted your own goals to determine where to go next. Attempting to please others leads to one leading a life that isn't their own...we are the only person responsible for determining what makes our existence meaningful. If goals remain the same over time, it's difficult to say that progress is being made...not meeting goals can be just as productive as meeting goals if it leads to better understanding of what success will look like to you :)
Beautiful, picture, message, ohh its just overall gorgeous!
Nothing in life worth doing comes without risks, seizing the moment is all we can do! You have successfully done so thus reaping the rewards of self-fulfilment, no regrets!
Welcome too #OneLoveDtube, Aim High, Share the Love!
Finding out what you really want is all about achieving one dream at a time- and sometimes finding out it's not really a dream after all and moving to the next one.
I wish you as big of a success in the next dream you work towards ;)
Thank you, @rutheh! That is very kind of you and I hope this next dream I have been working towards works out but if not, I will just keep trying and pursuing what I love.
Beautiful, picture, message, ohh its just overall gorgeous!
one tip: how do you write that much??? ;)
Bahaha I just have a lot to say I suppose :P
I loved it in NYC as well when I traveled there 3 years ago and I would love to do this trip again. But I guess this also wouldn’t be the place for me to live.
I’m tired of my small village where nothing’s ever happening. But it also doesn’t need to be one of the biggest metropolises in the world. Just some bigger city and then I would probably live somewhere in the suburbs.
I totally agree -- living near a big city but actually staying in the suburbs is the sweet spot! I currently live in a fairly large city but it's still manageable and the cost of living is great.
NYC is the perfect place to visit though... just not necessarily the perfect place to live for me at least!
I had a similar experience when I moved from the UK to the Czech Republic. Many people expected that I would stay in the UK and find some high-paying job. Yes, UK was great for studying at university but for life, I wanted to choose a country with better weather, lower prices amd simply beautiful architecture and nature. I do not regret my decision. Deep inside, we always know, where we feel the best:)
Thanks for sharing your similar experience :) It's nice to know that I am not alone on this! I have similar values as you and for me the loud, expensive, humid weather wasn't necessarily the best fit despite how beautiful NYC is and its constant adventures. Also, I followed you, you post great content!
You are definitely not alone on this:)
Aw, thank you very much for following my blog! You post great content, too, let's keep in touch :)
Totally frequently we can fulfill our dreams closer to home than away from home, maybe at first you have to experience being in the big apple because it is a city that does propaganda itself, it is undeniable is a big city, I lived it 6 months there, but it will never be the same when you are close to yours and you can enjoy in the middle of nature.
This comment couldn't be more true. :) Is wanting to be closer to family what made you leave NYC?
Fantastic that you followed your dream. Even though it ultimately ended in you eliminating NYC from your list of dream places to live, you can still regard it as a check on your bucket list!
If you hadn't gone, you would always have wondered what it would have been like to move to NYC and you might have regretted never pursuing that goal. It's brilliant that you did it and realised that it wasn't what you thought it would be. Similar things have happened to me a couple of times and I always see them as positive steps in the end.
Sometimes, finding something that you DON'T want can be amazingly useful in realising what you DO want. Well done for being flexible enough to realize that your dreams and goals had changed!
Exactly!! Life is too short to not step out of our comfort zones every once and a while and try to eliminate our "what ifs". I also am a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, so even when things don't workout, I try to see the positive aspects of it just like you!
Thanks for the thoughtful comments always. I get excited when I see you write something!! It's great getting to know other girls in the Steemit community :)
Totally! Everything happens for a reason, even if you can't see what it is right then. At some point in the future you'll look back and realise that the thing that you found disappointing or seemed like a failure at the time was actually the first step towards something even bigger and better.
Haha I feel the same way! Nice to have a circle of Steemit friends <3