If You Can Make It Here, You Can Make It Anywhere: Part 2

It has been 71 days since I have packed my bags, flew to New York City, lost my wallet, and started my 10 week journey of living in the city that never sleeps.

And yet, it feels like yesterday.

Isn’t that how the saying goes anyways? Time flies when you’re having fun?

I’m not sure how to describe how incredibly grateful and happy I am to have had this experience, and I think that’s okay. Even though I had 24 intern friends, two roommates, and had loved ones visit, no one will quite understand the experience I’ve had because it was all mine! These past 10 weeks have been very personalized, individualized, and Felicia-ized. 

My DoSomething.org internship was nothing short of life-changing. I learned more than I thought I would. Apparently there is more to social media than just posting cute pictures of myself with a witty caption-- who knew? ;) I learned more than social media, but about non-profits, people, and myself. The environment at DoSomething.org is so...perfect. Collaborative, inspiring, innovative, and then some. And let’s not forget the snacks. And let’s not forget the people! I feel closer to these people in 10 weeks than I did with the people I went to high school with for four years (just sayin). We truly became a family, which was evident from the abundant amount of tears we all shared on our last day. We had so much fun this summer, and yet got so much work done too. Shoot, I worked my butt off!  The work did pay off though, because during my end-of-the-internship meeting, Calvin expressed how proud of me he was :)

Calvin, my flawless supervisor

Interns on the last day!

The only thing I do regret is not immersing myself into more theater and dance. It’s like the epicenter for all of that, and I don’t think I took advantage of it. Of course, the two Broadway shows I did see were probably the best experiences I could ask for. When I saw Anything Goes with my mom, we were able to go backstage and I got to dance part of the Anything Goes choreography on center stage. Then, when Brenden was in town, we sat in the front row to watch Wicked. Not too shabby in my opinion. I also took a few theater jazz classes at the Alvin Ailey studios, which literally was a dream come true. My eighth grade self was screaming! It was great to take classes at the same studio as the dancers do who have inspired me since fifth grade. I went to a class on my last day in the city, and we did a fun, high-energy piece from Jesus Christ Superstar. It was pretty fast-paced which set me up for some fumbles, but it didn’t even matter because I was literally SO HAPPY to be dancing. I noticed I was involuntarily smiling and just letting my body do it’s thang. 

As I was riding the subway home, I wanted to kick back and listen to my New York playlist (yes, it exists) and reminisce over the past 10 weeks. But in true, unpredictable NYC fashion, I ended up talking to two guys about the city and life, and I realized I really had come full circle. I started this journey by losing my wallet, the world trying to humble me and tell me I have to just roll with the punches. During the last 10 weeks, so many other things have happened that I never expected (read: mouse and cockroaches) and I learned to just deal with them. Then during that last subway ride, here the world was again, telling me to just relax and enjoy life. It isn’t just about what happens to you, it’s how you react to it.

Leaving for the airport!

I really am proud of myself for making it through these 10 weeks and only crying once. I can truly say I have lived in New York City! And honestly, I feel invincible. After all, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.

In The Heights

For those who know my hometown Vancouver, WA, know about its lack of diversity.

An anecdote I like to share about the diversity of my high school takes place at the Dr. MLK Jr. Assembly freshman year. During the assembly, the guest lecturer asked for all African American students to stand up. The number of students that stood up could be counted on my two hands, and half of us were bi-racial. Not exactly diverse.

It's not as if I haven't experienced any other cultures or other ethnic traditions; that's not it at all. I just haven't lived in a neighborhood where the majority was an ethnicity besides white. That's why living in Washington Heights has been an exciting and somewhat startling experience.

I was definitely jarred by hearing sirens late at night. The bodegas, graffiti, and families sitting out on their steps threw me off a little bit at first too. It was weird to see people actually doing stuff out on the sidewalks. Old men playing checkers on the corner, young men trying to impress the ladies that walk by, and kids chasing each other. Everything seemed so...public and open.

It was also weird to see people that actually looked like me, not Hilary Duff or the Olsen twins.  I saw girls with the same skin color as me. I saw girls with the same shape as me. I saw girls with curly hair (like my hair when I wear it natural) and it looked good. I remember calling my mom my first weekend and saying, "Okay, so I may fall asleep to sirens, but I know they'll have good products for my hair."

I'll admit, I was a little scared the first couple of weeks. It wasn't until I listened to the soundtrack of the Broadway musical In The Heights, that I started feeling comfortable. Yes, I am aware of how atrociously cheesy that sounds, but since when am I afraid to get cheesy?

In The Heights is a musical about several families connected by a bodega in Washington Heights. It follows the families as they love, fight, celebrate, and grieve together.  The musical highlights how important community is in Washington Heights, and that's when I realized why my neighbors did everything outside. They were a community, and they were all out enjoying the company of their community in their outdoor living room. When I started imagining the characters of In The Heights interacting with my neighbors, everything just made sense. I would even listen to the soundtrack as I walked home!

Although I haven't made an effort to join the community, I do feel a sense of camaraderie. People have spoken in Spanish to me, thinking I am Dominican, and honestly, I think that's really cool! Of course, I could have only responded with my few key phrases that I learned in Dobie's cafeteria at UT, which probably wouldn't have made any sense in the conversation context. I've even publicly wore my hair au naturale a la afro a couple times this summer, which I don't think I've done since I was six.

My natural hair!

Although it was a bit of a hassle to ride the train all the way up to Washington Heights after hanging out with friends in the Lower East Side, living here this summer has been eye-opening and fascinating. Just like the characters in In The Heights, I'm glad I could call Washington Heights home for this summer.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

...but I don't recall Mama Fitz saying anything about there being weeks like this.

A week where everything is absolutely perfect. A week that you feel is so rom-comy, it could be a montage written by Nancy Meyer herself with the peppy "Mama Said" song overlay.

THAT was the week I had while Brenden was visiting.

During our senior year of high school, Brenden and I had both discussed how much we wanted to go to New York University for college. I didn't get accepted to NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and Brenden ended up not applying, so my dreams of us frolicking around the city together were dashed.

Fortunately for me, we started dating, he came to visit for our two year anniversary, and my dreams of us frolicking around the city together were alive and well.

Boy, did we frolick.

I won't sit here and bore you with a list of everything we did; I get it, that wouldn't be fun to read. I also won't sit here and gush about how Brenden is literally the best boyfriend in the entire world; we can save that for if we ever have a sleepover and stay-up late whispering in our sleeping bags after giving each other make-overs and eating too much junk food. I will sit here, however, and tell you that we had a fantastic time.

Since it was Brenden's first time in the city, we did all the tourist-y stuff, which honestly, I love! I know to be a "true New Yorker", you are suppose to hate all of that, but I really do think it's fun! The insane bustle of Times Square, the tranquility of Central Park, the magnificence of Grand Central station; I realized I had spent these last nine weeks focused on working and discovering new non-tourist-trap areas, so I loved going back to see the classics!

Many of the days were spent hopping on-and-off subways and weaving through the crowds hand-in-hand so we could make sure Brenden could see all of the significant sights, but there were a few moments where we slowed down a bit, and they were really special. Moments where I just looked up at the sky and smiled.

On our two year anniversary, we went to the top of Rockefeller Center and I was left in awe. I still can't figure out how to describe it. Not only was it aesthetically pleasing, but it just showed how--awesome--(for a lack of a better word) New York City is. It was breathtaking.

It was here that we read our anniversary letters we wrote to each other. I was so elated, in such a lovey-dovey mood, I wanted to run all 67 floors of the Rockefeller Center yelling, "I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!". Instead, I posted it on facebook. Typical social media intern, am I right?

The other moment took place in Central Park, at the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain. Maybe it was all the couples running around taking engagement/wedding photos, but I was just so happy to sit there with Brenden and enjoy life. As cheesy as that sounds.

Okay, I'd like to apologize. This came off a little more gushy than I intended. But I can't help it! Mama said there'd be days like this. She is absolutely right. Like she always is.