What a Time to Be Alive!

Remember that one time I ghosted on writing for months and proceeded to eat burritos like a full-contact sport instead? Cool, yeah...me too.

What a time to be alive!! Drake wasn't kidding. A time when you're living the dream or dying trying. A time when the universe is universally obsessed with the Internet of things, equality, and Justin Bieber. With global warming, emojis, and (hopefully? maybe?) world peace. In no particular order.

It's April -- Spring-ish, Monday, and sunny. And really, who knows where the last few months went.

Some days, we're singing along with Drake. And other days: "Work work work work work," along with Rihanna. That's life on the real. We're caught somewhere between feeling like we're too young to know what the heck we're doing. But too old to not know what we're doing. Ya feel?

The good news is that I'm fairly certain ice cream was created with this conundrum in mind. Mint chip and cookie dough hold all of life's answers!!! Mom/Dad would fully endorse this judgment call. And if we've learned anything from them, it's that "because I said so" is always enough of a reason.

Let's shoot the breeze and Monday like it's a verb. I'm not sure what that verb looks like, but I'm hoping you do. That feels like friendship. So tell me what's what in your life, and I'll tell you who's who in mine.

I've spent the last 4 months living the only way I know how -- splitting my time simultaneously trying to hangout with aaaaall of humanity and running away from it at the same time.

Meanwhile, San Francisco has alternated between raining cats/dogs/whatever else El Niño can find and sporting sunshine enough to necessitate a cold beer ASAP.

In other news, I spent February visiting (and being visited by) all the humans of NYC. These are the people who ate an unholy number of bagels with me. The people who walked the entire dang city, Brooklyn Bridge and back. The people who were up for talking about the big things and the little things and all the minor/major existential crises in between.

Can we all admit that we spent March doing who knows what? Awesome.

We spent March with those in good humor, laughing at all the fools who thought they fooled us. There was lots of music and no %*$^! given. And an Easter feast for the books.

Now April, here we go! I'm singing in the shower, hoping the neighbors don't hear but totally at peace that it'll be a viral video on Buzzfeed if they do. I'm playing sports, learning guitar from someone other than YouTube, and desperately trying to keep my plants alive like the adult that I'm not.

What a time to be alive! We're living the dream...or dying trying all the ice cream flavors while we figure it out. And if anyone asks why, the answer is easy --

Because I said so.

5 Things Learned from a Weekend in New York

I'm the girl flying on a swing in New York with an everything bagel in one hand...and a reckless disregard for limits in the other hand.

The California kid who is young, wild, and maybe a little too free for her own good. The spontaneous traveler who has a Mary Poppins bag. The wanderer who doesn't race against time, but right along with it.

Can we talk about New York City? IT'S WACKY. But ahem, good wacky.  A chaos of urban mankind that is (dis)organized just so. It has an energy about it.

And I'm hopelessly smitten.

That makes total sense, if we don't think about it for too long. Cut me some slack, and let's do this Sunday thing:

1. /// We talked a lot about passion & purpose this weekend. About discoveries found and love lost.

Don't freak out about this! We're allowed to be human. The sum of these conversations shows us how a person can be your anchor and axis. But also how the absence of such a person can throw you off balance. It's true - we're all just trying to make it! To keep our balance, in spite of the curveballs up life's sleeve. To feel like what we're doing = what we love in some way, shape, or form.

For me, short trips are a subtle reminder of all this. It's a hint at what and who matter most to us. The urgency of time means that conversations tend to dive beneath surface level chatter. I hope you know how much I appreciate these conversations.

I left New York City today, smiling but also wistful and wondering if this was the one that got away.

If this feels a lot like vulnerability, that's because it is. The truth is bonkers scary! Let it be.

2. /// It's hard not to compare San Francisco and New York.

I'm particularly guilty of this, fo'real! The two harbor similarities, which make it easy to pit the cities against one another.

Butttttt it's still all sorts of apples : oranges. To compare them is to compartmentalize two anomalies.  Well, tits man. We can do mo'bettah :)

3. /// A bit about career & the job world. 

Everyone I know seems to be hunting for a job or starting a new one. I feel you, friends! Naturally, this is a hot topic 'on the noggin. It's a whole lot to wrap your head around! I wrote Chapter One-and-a-Half  as a sort of response to the question, "So what are you doing with the rest of your life?" I wrote because I was feeling the pressure of uncertainty and discomfort that comes with not knowing what comes next. New York, I've begun to realize, is a magnet for those figuring out what's next.

Note: The only thing I purport to know certainly is that I don't know anything for certain. It's like we're all looking for that singular "right answer" -- only to realize there is no one right answer. To all on this Struggle Bus, here's a few other pieces of perspective I've found helpful:

• A Georgetown Jesuit's Answer to "What Career is Right for You?  - For me, this is about reflection, not religion.
• Why We Strive - A more abstract take on what drives us.
• A Life Beyond "Do What You Love" - For a contrary opinion to the popular admonition that we should do what we love.

4. /// I'm a go-getter who likes to get to the go!

{skip if you don't care about places to go in NYC}. Before leaving for the weekend, I asked friends near and far for their go-to grinds in the Big Apple. I traipsed around NYC both solo and in good company. In case you're headed to the city soon, here's my own shortlist of awesome:

• Brooklyn Waterfront, Pier 2 (Brooklyn): My new favorite place in New York. On Sundays, Smorgasburg is held here. It's nature x kickback, design x big-kid-at-heart playgrounds. And on a sunny day, I promise you that there is abso-freaking-lutely nothing better. Good vibes through the roof!
• Brooklyn Bagel Co (Chelsea, multiple locations): I'm a bagel snob. And I'm here to tell you that this Everything bagel + cream cheese is  the best bagel in NYC. It's a game changer. And would I lie to you about this? I think you know the answer to that.

• The High Line (Chelsea): The walk I'll never tire of. It's a wonderful place to wander. Or a choice locale to hangout with friends.
• Num Pang (Midtown East, multiple locations): Order the coconut tiger shrimp banh mi sandwich, if you know what's good for you.
• El Almacen (Brooklyn): My first ever Argentine restaurant. Ambiance to write home about. Meat lover's paradise.
• Long Island City Waterfront (LIC) - Best kept secret. Take the ferry and go at night -- it's a breathtaking view with a million twinkling lights.

{{Continue New York City recommendations HERE}}

5. /// Have friends, will travel.

This is one of life's magical bottom lines. High fives to the homies who got your back, no matter where you go. "Making the effort" is a big time player on the F*CK YES list.  Appreciation is easier said than done for most. So to all the friends who housed, helped, hi'd, hey'd, hungout with, and hugged me this weekend -- thanks for being RAD. You're totally the real deal.

I hope your weekend was super swell and that your Monday isn't too daunting!

This week might get a littttttle out of hand. And that's okay. We might struggle a bit to find our balance -- our person, our career path, our whatcha-ma-callit...chill time?! The humanity of New York can attest that we're not alone in trying to figure it all out.

Let's just take this whole dang enchilada one day at a time. And remember that anything is possible with an everything bagel in hand.

Dream Big But Never Sleep

Adventure (n). It’s safe to say I spend half my time thinking of ridiculous things. And the other half actually doing them. An impromptu, whirlwind tour of the East Coast for the week(end) constitutes both the former and latter.

Solo? You betcha. Fear is not a friend of mine. Plus, I have an uncanny habit of making and finding friends along the way.

Going to a Jesuit university has its perks, namely five sweet days of break that feel just too good to be true. High fives to the Easter bunny. Unceremoniously wedged between Spring Break and finals, it’s a catch-breath before finals pulls a berserk attack. I’m starting to dream of those hot summer nights on the horizon.

But hot dang, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. April stands for adventure (n.) – so we’re doing just that. Genius is as ingenious does. Run with it? I thought you’d never ask. We’re going places!

New York City strikes me as grit disguised in big dream glory. Even with its brisk, fuggedaboutit tone, New York has always been a bit of a dream. You see, it paints bright-eyed girl with dreams too big for baggage (guess who?). It’s the endless and constant supply of doing that tempts a hopeless doer. And it’s the challenge to make it big where and when the changes seem so small. I’ve warned you that I’m a hopeless dreamer, with an eye for the unlikely.

I’m hanging around NYU, right at the intersection of Banker St. and Hipster Ave. I’ll likely be found at Moth Slam with M or walking through the Village with no particular destination.

Yale seems downright collegiate. While their bulldog mascot is sadly nowhere near the caliber of Georgetown’s (ha! ;)), I’m excited to see the place that high school best friend SC has shown me only in ridiculous stories.

Columbia | Barnard: Rumor has it that all students must be able to swim across a pool before graduating. I dig that sort of crazy creativity, meaning I’m already a fan. I’m seeing friends S and N. Waffles are a given.

Happy Wednesday, friends. It’s time to meet the city that dreams big but never sleeps. Funny, that city sounds a lot like someone I know? Oh right, that’s me. -L