A Month in Manhattan

Exactly a month ago I began an amazing internship at UN Women in New York City. Though it has been hard getting used fast-paced lifestyle of New York, balancing working 40 hours a week and taking classes on the side, the past month I’ve learned a few things about myself that I didn’t think I would come to terms with, especially on the island of Manhattan.  

Yes, sometimes life is an episode of Gossip Girl or Sex and The City. Other times, it’s not. 

New York is truly the city that never sleeps. There is always something going on: be it an academic lecture, an obscure happy hour, a pop-up shop, live music, etc. It’s very easy to get feel like you’re on a movie set constantly, and it feels somewhat empowering to walk the streets of the city truly believing that you own them, especially as a 20-something with an array of opportunities in Manhattan. At the same time, for such a densely populated island, it can get very lonely. The idea that you have nothing to do in a city that everyone seems to be doing something can be daunting. I think the hardest part of the last month is coming to terms with the idea that spending a Sunday on the couch focusing on literally nothing is a healthy decision. Just because I’m sleeping in the city that doesn’t, doesn’t mean I’m slacking.  

As cliche as it sounds, we make our own happiness.  

Self-love has always been on the top of my to-do list as something I have to achieve at all times, but sometimes that’s hard to do with all the noise surrounding campus activities or college friends. As much as we say that college is about finding ourselves, a lot of the time we go with what everyone else is doing because FOMO is a thing. A city like New York forces you to be independent and find spaces that fulfills you, personally, and no one else. That could be joining a gym, a book club, taking a cooking class. The important part is doing it because it makes YOU happy. If you happen to meet people along the way, that’s great. Not being constricted to certain clubs and groups and a finally set social circle has allowed me to try more, new things and meet people I would have otherwise not met.  

Side hustles are the new black. 

Nine-hour work days can become monotonous. Projects at work can be entertaining and they can relate to your passions but a lot of the time in entry level positions and internships those projects aren’t your own. A lot of people I have come to know in my short time in the city have a side-hustle. Somewhat like a hobby, but that also helps them professionally. I know people who do photography, others who freelance, those who sell homemade baked-goods and others who simply paint and hope someone likes their art. Those side projects are important. A lot of the time people assume that because we’re in the “real world” a job is more important that following our passions, that simply isn’t the case. Both can be achieved. Sleep might be an issue, but the fulfillment that you can work and also do something that truly makes you passionate and can distract form work — in a good, non-overwhelming way — is important. Who knows, maybe that side hustle can become a full blown business. 

Laugh with yourself, not at yourself  

We sometimes forget that everyone is on some sort of struggle bus. Although some days get daunting, and the existential crisis of impending gradation hits me (I haven’t studied for the GRE! What if I don’t get a job? What I have achieve nothing with my college degree? Are some of the thoughts that rattle through my head every so often) most people my age have no idea what they want to achieve in their lives. Those who do might change their mind in five years. It’s important to laugh at the fact that sometimes life happens, it doesn’t go our way and that’s ok. Instead of believing the universe is conspiring against us, laugh at the fact that Mars is in retrograde. Crying about it won’t make it go away. That being said, crying is also important. Sometimes, becoming in Niagara Falls is the only release we need to pick ourselves back up. It is also important to know that laughing everything is not a solution, something have to be tackled head on. Point is, its important not to take ourselves too seriously. 

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