A month ago I took a huge leap out of my comfort zone, and moved to the biggest city in the US. I had never visited New York, nor lived on my own before. Back in November when I received an offer to move up for a few months to work as a marketing intern in Manhattan I felt a mixture of fear and excitement. Fear because I would be leaving my friends and family behind for and excitement because I knew it was a fantastic opportunity to further my education, and help set me up for a great carrier in the marketing and PR industry.
Upon completing my first month here, I have discovered my ability to adapt to new environments. I'm subletting a bedroom in a large apartment in Brooklyn with 5(yes 5) roommates who are some of the kindest people you could meet in this city. Before moving here I had only taken the subway in DC a couple of times, but it has now become a part of my everyday life. Having no car has been a large adjustment, and I will have to admit I greatly miss my heated leather seats when I'm fighting for a seat on the train in the morning.
After working as a freelance creative artist for the last few years, one of the hardest things I've had to adapt to is working in an office all day. Prior to moving up here I frequently envied people who got to work in an office and have the team element of co-workers. After a few weeks of rediscovering the structure of a work day I have come to enjoy certain aspects of an office. I feel blessed to be at such a great firm, with so many kind people willing to help teach me.
In conclusion: Success is rarely something that is found in your comfort zone. To move forward in life, and achieve your dreams you must first jump off a cliff. At first you won't fly, and you will flop around, hit your head, and in every way feel like a you're going to fail. At a certain point you can chose to give up, and at that point you will in fact fail, but to those who keep going and don't give up your parachute will open, and you will find success(Steve Harvey said part of that). I will be the first to admit, at this point I've jumped and I'm still waiting for my parachute to open. God has blessed me so much, and since moving here I have met so many great people. I have a small friend group, and have gotten plugged into a great church(Hillsong NYC if you're in the area and want to visit). While I don't know where I'm going, I know one thing; God does. My faith has gotten me thus far, and I can assure you I have no plans of slowing down anytime soon. If anything, this city invigorates you to want to push harder, and go farther. New York is a competitive monster, that will either make you, or break you. The key is always to take things one day, one hour, and one minute at a time. Celebrate the small victories, and don't let the failures get you down. I'm more determined, and focused than ever before, and cannot wait to see what these next few months hold.