Living in New York can be an other-worldly experience. Disneyland with a little grit and poop (literally) mixed in. I was serious about the poop comment. Watch where you’re walking when you’re here or –oops!
Literally you have the beautiful storybook-esque on the same street that you have dirt and grime and poverty.
What I also mean by the Disneyland part is, the fact that you feel like you are on a movie set most of the time. The buildings are sometimes too perfect and people are dressed to a “T”–even if it’s the homeless look and that scarf falls in a too perfect manner. Yet, everyone acts as if they don’t give a shit what everyone else is wearing or doing or saying. So, is it for themselves or everyone else?
In New York, I know that I can wear whatever (and I mean WHATEVER) and no one looks twice. In its own way, it has given me a confidence in how I dress myself. My newest fashion motto is: “If I look like a ‘hot mess,’ who gives a shit?! I probably won’t ever see that person again anyway, and if I do they probably won’t even remember me!”
Last fall I went on an interview. Afterwards, I sat down on a bench to change into my comfortable shoes. After doing so, I walked a whole city block before I heard a man’s voice calling out behind me: “Ma’am! Ma’am! Excuse me!” Confused I turned around, and he goes on to say, “Your skirt’s pulled up in the back.”
When I had gotten up from the park bench, I did not realize it, but my dress had been pulled up by my bag when I slung it back over my shoulder. Mortified, I thanked him profusely. Of course he had to turn it from an act of kindness into an act of slime ball proportion by saying, “No, THANK YOU!”
At first, I thought I was going to die of embarrassment, but then I thought about where I was and what I was doing, and I said “Who gives a shit! I’ll never see that guy or anyone who saw my ass again!”
Even with body image and looks–you have the good with the bad. Yes, I can wear whatever the hell I feel like, but then I have to compete with beautiful size zeros and most people are so superficial when it comes to size in this city. Life in New York is definitely a mixed bag–and you have to take both for what they are and stay strong to succeed. Life here is extra wonderful AND extra hard.
So, you just have to laugh and smile!
