People are EVERYWHERE!

Traveling to the city is like a mini field trip. The hustle and bustle of the city is over whelming if you are not ready to embrace it. I'm not kidding when I tell you that while you are walking around the city, act like you belong.Walk as if you own the place! No one will bother you; well, they don't bother me, usually.

Walking up and out of one of Penn Station's bustling main entrances, you will hear the sound of the city life rush through your ears.Coming up the escalator I notice the morning sunlight, then hundreds of changing faces all around you that are constantly moving, billboards upon billboards, cars and finally, the large buildings that make up part of the New York skyline ahead. Cars, people, whistles, car horns, bikes, and construction consume the air. "Metro! Metro! Read all about it!". Cops are yelling at cars and people, "keep moving! Let's goooooooooo!" while directing traffic. Keep in mind the smell of sewers, cigarets, and car fumes.  If my cousin walked by, chances of me noticing him are slim to none; and I am pretty aware of my surroundings. I went to school with 50,000 other students and I wouldn't go 24 hours without bumping into a Theta Alpha sister. I am and was very aware of my surroundings. I never wanted to pass someone I knew and not greet them. Transitioning from that to trying to not notice the person next to me unless I felt a weird vibe coming from them is a big change.

You know you are traveling home during rush hour when you see people EVERYWHERE. Rush hour can last from 7am to 10am and at night 4pm to 8pm. The best way home is to take the train, and on that train, good luck finding a seat. Luckily, I am alone, young and move fast so I can usually find a seat. Everyone else of course, like so many other times when I have been almost late for my train, is standing in the aisle because there are no more empty seats (Actually, you will find many middle seats available but no one wants to feel squished or even touch one another). As I was sitting there that day, actually reading my book instead of looking at Twitter, crumbs were falling from the sky. No, they weren't falling from the sky. They were falling from the mouth of the person standing in the aisle above my head. Those crumbs were potato chips. Of course, the guy next to me who was standing in the aisle is eating them. It is so packed on this train that there is only room enough to face the windows of the train and not the doors. Now I get to go home not just sweaty but covered with tiny pieces of Lays chips. Awesome.

I feel lonely sometimes but luckily staying with my family in New Jersey has helped a lot. I also have family in Long Island so when I make trip out there, it is nice to see everyone including my uncles who are in Brooklyn and Yonkers. Being with people, especially people you know can help at times. Especially being new to a city and at first, I didn't have my car. In July, after I had flown back to Florida to pack my things and officially take all my stuff to New Jersey, I had my car. I drove all the way from Orlando to New Jersey all by myself. I would say it was a very big accomplishment for me. I had never driven a far distance like that before and I haven't by myself. Also, I have anxiety traveling so I felt like I really took charge of my anxiety those three days.

I am currently writing to you from my desk. Yes, I have acquired a job. A marketing assistant position actually! So I am reminiscing on the events that happened to me the past few months when I was looking for a full time job and combining it with my experiences today. As you can see, my experiences and efforts with trial and errors have been successful!!! I hope that when I blog about those interviews I went on and how I made certain connections, it will help those who are also dreaming of New York or some other city that they dream to live or work in! I will look back to my beginning emails just to describe some of the interviews I went on. I hope this helps and you will be successful finding a job as well (even in this economy).

xoxox
onesmartlady