Start Spreadin' the News...

-->

The two weeks I spent in New York altered the course of the life I have been living for the last year. For the first time in a long time, I felt alive again. I mean, really alive. The first three days were awkward and a bit lonely. It was like the feeling one experiences on the first day of school as the new student. The people and possibilities were exciting but I was not yet comfortable in my skin. Once I let go and just let the flow of the city carry me, I felt like I was a tiny drop within a vast, magnificent ocean. I was a small part of something big and powerful, and I loved the way that felt.

I knew going into it that my life and perspective would be changed forever. I knew that I would experience many new things and take with me some amazing memories; Memories so great that even now, I shake my head and smile when I recall the details. I know vacations like this always resonate for us but this was a little more than just vacation for me. It was more like the pause in my life that I desperately needed: A chance to reflect, grow, reconnect and hopefully, discover what road I needed to take next. I had been living in a state of staleness for a few months and it was just time to kick myself out of the comfortable nest I had made for myself and make something real happen.

The city is alive with a heartbeat that is felt from Harlem to Brooklyn and Chinatown. There is unification in the multiplicity. The art, the music, the energy, the people, the languages, the food, the ethnic diversity, the fashion, the history, the weather, I soaked it all in. I never wanted to sleep so I stayed up until 3, 4 and sometimes 5 AM. I awoke early every morning ready to do it all again and I was excited about discovering a new café that offered an amazing cup of coffee and the perfect croissant. And in my second week, I discovered espresso made by a true Italian woman. I sat in Central Park, ate escargot, walked blocks upon blocks without ever feeling it, saw two major movies being filmed, saw the city lit up from the ferry while sharing the music of Coldplay from my iPod with a new friend. I met an artist who does fine art body painting, a denim designer on the L train from Brooklyn who uses the very same factory and wash technician that I do. I was reminded that even in a city with millions of people, it is still a very small world; and we can all be so delicately intertwined. I met so many people from all over the world. Some have lived there for years, some were just passing through. People were warm and welcoming.  I ended up deep in the heart of Harlem, lost, and the residents were kind enough to point me in the right direction back to where I was supposed to be. As with any big city, there are your sketchy neighborhoods and scary people but my overall experience with New Yorkers was very good.

After the city had a chance to soak into my skin, I knew it would never leave.