How Do You Measure A Year?

In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee?

Or maybe how your level of comfortability while riding the New York subway?

It's crazy to me to think that it was merely one year ago, that I was here in New York City for the first time by myself. Even though I was so excited by the city and felt like I belonged, there was still a sense of uncomfort and nervousness within me. And on top of that, it was exactly 365 days ago that I watched Sister Act in The Broadway Theatre, then trekked off on the R train to stay with a friend in Brooklyn. Or so I tried. The R train was down for maintenance and the panic on my face triggered a young man to help me get to my destination. If it hadn't been for him, I may still be stuck on the Union Square subway stop. Flash forward to this March 15: I watched Cinderella in The Broadway Theatre, then trekked off to the R train to stay with a friend in the Lower East Side. I accomplished the endeavor with ease and comfort. Here I am writing this blog.

You can measure a year with birthdays, holidays, school years, but returning to NYC a year after my first lone experience of the city opened my eyes to how much I have grown in the past year. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. I hate to admit that all those times our parents have told us "you really find out who you are in your 20s" they were right, but they were. This probably means they are also right in the sense that will miss taking college classes after the fact, but I'm finding this one seriously hard to believe. I do believe that my core values, my "essence", my Felicia-ness, has been there since December 26, 1991 and will be with me until I peace out, but it's exciting to see the change and growth in my life since this time last year. I feel like there is a newfound confidence and it came from me taking that leap out of my comfort zone and spending the summer in the city by myself.

This city is the best. Ever. There's this energy that can't really be explained-- you have to experience it. And I feel like the best time to experience it is in your 20s. It's the time where sleep isn't high on the priority list (okay it's way high on the priority list but for some reason we all go without it anyways), and you can just ride that constant wave of energy until you crash, take a power nap, then do it all again. My friends Ja'Michael and Jelisa were able to experience this energy for the first time during this spring break, and I was so happy we met up and I was able to be a part of it and see the excitement of their first visit!

It was also great to be a part of the UT seminar for the second time, and feel prepared and professional. I was a part of the journalism group and it was AWESOME. We visited The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, The Huffington Post, ABC News, CNN, BuzzFeed, and Food Network Magazine. I made some new friends that I can tell will be good friends, and was able to reunite with the fabulous folks of DoSomething.org that I love so much.

I'm not sure if I can accurately expresse how alive this city makes me feel, but I can say how much it has influenced this past year for me. In some ways, it has been there for me to daydream about during Biology for non-majors, and in other ways, it has seriously altered my future. In the past 525,600 minutes, I have measured my life in New York City.

xx