I’ve never been to New York before.
Don’t worry, I’m depressed about this fact enough for you, me, and the entire state of Ohio.
But the funniest thing happened today at work. As I was walking back in from late lunch at 4 one of the girls said to me: “Kassey, why are you here? I feel like you should be in New York or something.”
Hopefully she said that because I remind her of Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City and because she thinks I can hail a cab like whoa. Hopefully it wasn’t for other reasons like I scowl and am prepared to cut you if you make me miss a green traffic light…two things that aren’t necessarily false about me…and aren’t necessarily true about New Yorkers. Moving on.
#FunFact: Do you know that’s the third time in 2013 that I’ve been told something similar?
It comes down to “you’re young, you’re single, you’ve traveled more than the average person, you have money, 0 debt, love & support, a good degree…Why are still in Northeast Ohio when you could be anywhere in the world doing anything?
And oddly…all three times this has come up…I’ve had no answer. (I just stand with my mouth gaping open like a fish).
I honestly don’t know what I’m doing living in a county with a wimpy population of 174,000. I have nothing holding me here and nothing stopping me from leaving.
If I wanted to, I could drain my savings account, fly to Paris, and spend quite some time sitting outside cafes wearing a beret and eating crepes.
So why aren’t I on the 747 to Charles de Gaulle? Simply because I’m not.
One day I will be back in England. (Dear God if you’re listening…this is the line to remember). One day I will be sitting outside that cafe in Paris scribbling funny notes about my adventures in the Louvre (I got lost the last time so hopefully next time goes better). Maybe I’ll be living in New York or Chicago or London (if I”m really lucky). Maybe I’ll be running my own agency.
One day I hope to do a lot of things. But that doesn’t mean I’m not doing a lot of things right now, too. Behind the scenes I’m clawing at and hustling for my dreams. I get up and work before work, I work, and then when I get home from work I work some more on personal projects. I’m trying to get my MBA. I’m trying to carve a hole for myself in the photo+design industry. I’m doing a lot of things I hope will get me closer to my own measure of success.
But thank you, world, for reminding me of the end game. “You should be in New York.” You’re right. I should. I definitely feel like I belong somewhere not here. So I guess the only thing I can really say in response to those people is…
Soon.