I cannot believe that one year has gone by since I boarded a plane headed to New York City with my two overweight suitcases and a backpack. The time has flown by. I told myself that I had to stay here a year, even if I hated it. Well, I definitely have not hated it. Of course, there are definitely things I miss about Dallas- especially the people. I definitely have not experienced the number or depth of friendships I had in Dallas here in NYC. But, in spite of that, I have not experienced much loneliness at all. So, as I reflect back on my first year in the big city, I have to count my top blessings (in no particular order):
--God has definitely blessed me with friendships from The Journey in Joy and Kristin. They are not only girls I can get together to explore the city with, but also girls I know I can count on in a time of need and that’s a nice thing to have when you’re all alone in the big city.
--My apartment. Sure, I have my complaints, especially when it comes to my roommates, but all-in-all, God really came through for me on a great place to live. I remember the stress and anxiety I had in searching for a place to live those first 6 weeks in the city, coupled with a peace that He would provide the perfect spot (another obvious HUGE blessing was that of the use of my parent’s friend’s apartment for the first few weeks). Finding a place to live in this city is HARD and not enjoyable. But, I ended up with a place in a great location….I’ve been able to walk to BOTH the jobs I’ve had. Our space is nice for a NYC apartment. We have a real living room and kitchen and that’s not always the case here. My bedroom is cozy and feels homey.
--My new church, Apostles. My growth group is great and I’m enjoying the girls I’m still just getting to know and recognize that they are an answer to a very specific prayer I had for relationships with Christian girls my age. I had kind of resigned myself to the fact that I probably wouldn’t find a church in NYC that I loved as much as PCBC. I knew even before I took the job at the Journey that the teaching there would never rival that of Dr. Denison’s. But, my new church comes pretty darn close. JR is an amazing teacher and reminds me a lot of Dr. Denison. He is very wise and knowledgeable about not only the Bible, but other facts and things going on at the time those events took place. He doesn’t do his sermons from complete memory like Dr. Denison did, but he relies very little on his notes which tells me he is smart, prepared, and has great understanding. He is also extremely kind and obviously a lover of all people, which I admire. The second time I visited there, he remembered my name from my first visit, almost a month prior, and he has remembered it ever since. That is extremely impressive to me.
--My job at The Journey. It was a blessing in disguise, maybe. It was the thing that gave me the confidence to make a move I’d dreamt of making for years. It provided me with immediate Christian friendships in a city where I knew no one. I learned a lot about myself, about discretion, about honesty, about love and kindness and patience and attitudes, about being bold and always choosing to seek God and trust Him above all else.
--My time off. I was blessed with more time off last year than I’ve had in years. I’ve always gone from job to job with no break. Even in my transition from Winstead in Dallas to The Journey here, I only took 1 day off! During the time when I was first starting to make a decision about The Journey, I had about 5 relaxing days off work spent with Michelle and Melanie in Sun Valley (coincidentally, these girls were also the ones visiting me in NYC when I made my decision to leave The Journey). I was blessed with a week off last June to go back home, finish up my move, and attend my cousin’s wedding. The Journey was good about giving time off and also gave me several single days off when I had friends or family in town. I had an entire 4 weeks off as I transitioned from The Journey to the NHL. This afforded me the opportunity to spend time exploring more sites in the city and also to take short trips to The Jersey Shore and DC. Spending my first 6 weeks at the NHL as a contractor allowed me to decide my schedule and take 5 days off at Thanksgiving, another day off to go to Niagara Falls, and almost 2 weeks off for Christmas and New Years. Wow—I wish that was my life every year!!
--My job at the NHL. Wow!! Within two weeks of quitting The Journey, I had acquired a great head-hunter and had two interviews and two job offers. I’m still not too excited about doing accounting every day, but the job at the NHL has been great otherwise. The people have been nice to get to know, the atmosphere is extremely laid-back, and the work isn’t as boring as it could be!
--Financial blessings galore. I’m not sure I have ever seen God as evident in my life as I have in my financial situation over the past year. I’m not sure that I have shared much about this in any other blog post, but God was extremely faithful in providing for me during my six months at The Journey. I don’t like to talk about my salary (or yours, for that matter) and won’t give you specific numbers, but in order to explain God’s provision, I will tell you some facts about my income/expenses during that time. When I took the job at The Journey, I took a 27% decrease in pay from my job in Dallas. I knew that my rent in NYC would be approximately 50% higher than my rent in Dallas and that other expenses would increase as well. Knowing these things made taking the job at The Journey possibly the scariest decision I have ever made, but I felt the Lord leading me to that place and had numerous people assure me that when I was in His will, He would provide. He provided abundantly in ways that I cannot even mathematically explain. During those six months, I remember being aware of the fact that I needed to be careful where I spent my money, but I don’t really remember having to give up much at all. I recently went back and took a look at my savings account and my credit card statements during those months to see how I had survived. I realized I was debt-free and had more savings than I’ve ever had in my life. How is that possible? I believe that it was only through the grace of God. It is a great reminder of the blessings He bestows on us when we are obedient to His calling. It’s also a great example of how He provides for us and how He can take little and turn it into much….remember the 5 loaves and 2 fishes that were shared among thousands?!?! I am blessed to have experienced something like that first-hand.
--New experiences. I have been lucky to experience so much of New York City…shows, restaurants, walks through different neighborhoods, museums, red-carpet celebrity sightings, etc... It has been all I hoped for and more! As the year has gone on, my list of “things to do in NYC” has grown longer, rather than shorter. Everytime I do something new, I learn about 3 more things I need to try!
--Visitors!!! I have loved all of my visitors…from family to high school friends to Dallas friends; they have all been a delight!! I have more visitors already scheduled to come in the coming weeks and months and look forward to those as well!
--The winter weather. I was extremely frightened about experiencing a Northeast winter. I never liked winter, even in Dallas, so I was imagining the worst. I really thought that once I experienced winter here, I would begin making plans to move back home because I wouldn’t be able to make it through another. God really had mercy on me with the very mild winter we had. I was also blessed with a real fall-season which I hadn’t experienced in years and fell in love with! I always thought summer was my favorite, but last fall was the most perfect season I’ve ever experienced and I’m looking forward to this next one.
--I hate friendships that come to an end (to a fault, really). I do not like losing track of people, not keeping up with them like I’d like, and facing the reality that things can’t always be like they were. I was terrified about losing the amazing friendships I had developed in Dallas during my 7 years there. Luckily they are friends who haven’t forgotten me! They still call or email to check-in and they grace me with their presence when I make return trips home.
--Hope for new opportunities. I love my first class at NYU and how it has broadened my knowledge and increased my hopes for a career in the event management industry.
I know I am probably forgetting gazillion blessings from the past year, but one thing is certain, I AM blessed. As I write this, I find myself praying that God would make me constantly aware of that so that I do not take it for granted and learn to use those blessings for His glory, cause otherwise they’re eternally worthless!
So, what’s to come in year #2 in NYC?? I am very content with where I am right now and with whatever is to come my way in the next year. I honestly have NO idea right now of how long I’ll be here or what my life will look like a year from now, but another blessing is that I’m not afraid of it either. Maybe, life will be pretty similar to what it is now. Maybe, I’ll be working in the events industry by then. Maybe, I’ll be back in Dallas. Maybe, I’ll be on an adventure to another entirely different city. Maybe there will be a boy (and I am open for that, so if you’ve got any options for me, send ‘em my way!). The options for this year are wide-open and I have no idea where life will take me, but I am excited to see!
--God has definitely blessed me with friendships from The Journey in Joy and Kristin. They are not only girls I can get together to explore the city with, but also girls I know I can count on in a time of need and that’s a nice thing to have when you’re all alone in the big city.
--My apartment. Sure, I have my complaints, especially when it comes to my roommates, but all-in-all, God really came through for me on a great place to live. I remember the stress and anxiety I had in searching for a place to live those first 6 weeks in the city, coupled with a peace that He would provide the perfect spot (another obvious HUGE blessing was that of the use of my parent’s friend’s apartment for the first few weeks). Finding a place to live in this city is HARD and not enjoyable. But, I ended up with a place in a great location….I’ve been able to walk to BOTH the jobs I’ve had. Our space is nice for a NYC apartment. We have a real living room and kitchen and that’s not always the case here. My bedroom is cozy and feels homey.
--My new church, Apostles. My growth group is great and I’m enjoying the girls I’m still just getting to know and recognize that they are an answer to a very specific prayer I had for relationships with Christian girls my age. I had kind of resigned myself to the fact that I probably wouldn’t find a church in NYC that I loved as much as PCBC. I knew even before I took the job at the Journey that the teaching there would never rival that of Dr. Denison’s. But, my new church comes pretty darn close. JR is an amazing teacher and reminds me a lot of Dr. Denison. He is very wise and knowledgeable about not only the Bible, but other facts and things going on at the time those events took place. He doesn’t do his sermons from complete memory like Dr. Denison did, but he relies very little on his notes which tells me he is smart, prepared, and has great understanding. He is also extremely kind and obviously a lover of all people, which I admire. The second time I visited there, he remembered my name from my first visit, almost a month prior, and he has remembered it ever since. That is extremely impressive to me.
--My job at The Journey. It was a blessing in disguise, maybe. It was the thing that gave me the confidence to make a move I’d dreamt of making for years. It provided me with immediate Christian friendships in a city where I knew no one. I learned a lot about myself, about discretion, about honesty, about love and kindness and patience and attitudes, about being bold and always choosing to seek God and trust Him above all else.
--My time off. I was blessed with more time off last year than I’ve had in years. I’ve always gone from job to job with no break. Even in my transition from Winstead in Dallas to The Journey here, I only took 1 day off! During the time when I was first starting to make a decision about The Journey, I had about 5 relaxing days off work spent with Michelle and Melanie in Sun Valley (coincidentally, these girls were also the ones visiting me in NYC when I made my decision to leave The Journey). I was blessed with a week off last June to go back home, finish up my move, and attend my cousin’s wedding. The Journey was good about giving time off and also gave me several single days off when I had friends or family in town. I had an entire 4 weeks off as I transitioned from The Journey to the NHL. This afforded me the opportunity to spend time exploring more sites in the city and also to take short trips to The Jersey Shore and DC. Spending my first 6 weeks at the NHL as a contractor allowed me to decide my schedule and take 5 days off at Thanksgiving, another day off to go to Niagara Falls, and almost 2 weeks off for Christmas and New Years. Wow—I wish that was my life every year!!
--My job at the NHL. Wow!! Within two weeks of quitting The Journey, I had acquired a great head-hunter and had two interviews and two job offers. I’m still not too excited about doing accounting every day, but the job at the NHL has been great otherwise. The people have been nice to get to know, the atmosphere is extremely laid-back, and the work isn’t as boring as it could be!
--Financial blessings galore. I’m not sure I have ever seen God as evident in my life as I have in my financial situation over the past year. I’m not sure that I have shared much about this in any other blog post, but God was extremely faithful in providing for me during my six months at The Journey. I don’t like to talk about my salary (or yours, for that matter) and won’t give you specific numbers, but in order to explain God’s provision, I will tell you some facts about my income/expenses during that time. When I took the job at The Journey, I took a 27% decrease in pay from my job in Dallas. I knew that my rent in NYC would be approximately 50% higher than my rent in Dallas and that other expenses would increase as well. Knowing these things made taking the job at The Journey possibly the scariest decision I have ever made, but I felt the Lord leading me to that place and had numerous people assure me that when I was in His will, He would provide. He provided abundantly in ways that I cannot even mathematically explain. During those six months, I remember being aware of the fact that I needed to be careful where I spent my money, but I don’t really remember having to give up much at all. I recently went back and took a look at my savings account and my credit card statements during those months to see how I had survived. I realized I was debt-free and had more savings than I’ve ever had in my life. How is that possible? I believe that it was only through the grace of God. It is a great reminder of the blessings He bestows on us when we are obedient to His calling. It’s also a great example of how He provides for us and how He can take little and turn it into much….remember the 5 loaves and 2 fishes that were shared among thousands?!?! I am blessed to have experienced something like that first-hand.
--New experiences. I have been lucky to experience so much of New York City…shows, restaurants, walks through different neighborhoods, museums, red-carpet celebrity sightings, etc... It has been all I hoped for and more! As the year has gone on, my list of “things to do in NYC” has grown longer, rather than shorter. Everytime I do something new, I learn about 3 more things I need to try!
--Visitors!!! I have loved all of my visitors…from family to high school friends to Dallas friends; they have all been a delight!! I have more visitors already scheduled to come in the coming weeks and months and look forward to those as well!
--The winter weather. I was extremely frightened about experiencing a Northeast winter. I never liked winter, even in Dallas, so I was imagining the worst. I really thought that once I experienced winter here, I would begin making plans to move back home because I wouldn’t be able to make it through another. God really had mercy on me with the very mild winter we had. I was also blessed with a real fall-season which I hadn’t experienced in years and fell in love with! I always thought summer was my favorite, but last fall was the most perfect season I’ve ever experienced and I’m looking forward to this next one.
--I hate friendships that come to an end (to a fault, really). I do not like losing track of people, not keeping up with them like I’d like, and facing the reality that things can’t always be like they were. I was terrified about losing the amazing friendships I had developed in Dallas during my 7 years there. Luckily they are friends who haven’t forgotten me! They still call or email to check-in and they grace me with their presence when I make return trips home.
--Hope for new opportunities. I love my first class at NYU and how it has broadened my knowledge and increased my hopes for a career in the event management industry.
I know I am probably forgetting gazillion blessings from the past year, but one thing is certain, I AM blessed. As I write this, I find myself praying that God would make me constantly aware of that so that I do not take it for granted and learn to use those blessings for His glory, cause otherwise they’re eternally worthless!
So, what’s to come in year #2 in NYC?? I am very content with where I am right now and with whatever is to come my way in the next year. I honestly have NO idea right now of how long I’ll be here or what my life will look like a year from now, but another blessing is that I’m not afraid of it either. Maybe, life will be pretty similar to what it is now. Maybe, I’ll be working in the events industry by then. Maybe, I’ll be back in Dallas. Maybe, I’ll be on an adventure to another entirely different city. Maybe there will be a boy (and I am open for that, so if you’ve got any options for me, send ‘em my way!). The options for this year are wide-open and I have no idea where life will take me, but I am excited to see!
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