Once upon there was a girl. She was creative, adventurous and filled with joy. Her life had taken her to many exciting places and one of the stops along the journey led her to the United States Capital - Washington DC.
She spent many years in DC spending time with wonderful family members, meeting many wonderful people, and being a part of a very wonderful church. But suddenly life hit her pretty hard (as it sometimes has the habit of doing). There were lots of circumstances that made it difficult to be around people. And suddenly that girl that had always been so full of joy found herself feeling very alone and very sad - it was not fun :-(
One day, she had enough. Sometimes you just need to get away - and so she did. She took a very spontaneous trip to the city of New York. One Friday she booked a bus ticket and hotel room and early the next morning she was on her way for a little NYC getaway.
It was the first time she had been to New York in years and when she saw the city skyline her heart filled with joy.
She went to a Broadway show:
She walked through Central Park:
She had bagels and coffee:
There was something about being in New York City that just felt right. She felt like she belonged there. But she knew she was just visiting - DC was her home.
Only DC did not feel like home anymore. When that creative, adventurous, and filled with joy girl left New York her heart sank. When she pulled in to DC her heart sank even further and the sadness came again.
She had recently made a life decision that meant she was going to be in DC for at least another year and one Sunday night after coming home from a wonderful time in New York, she went to sleep feeling like she had made a big mistake.
The next day that creative, adventurous, sad girl went to work and as she rode the bus into the district her sadness bubbled inside her. But then she received an email that changed the course of her life. There was a change in circumstances and she was released from the commitment that would keep her in DC. She felt free and while the situation could have been stressful, she was relieved.
And then she had a thought...
“God, are you releasing me to move to New York?”
She pondered that question. She prayed. She talked to trusted friends and family members. She began to think about the great big leap of faith it would be to move to New York.
Then she started stepping out. Long story short, she found housing through a wonderful friend, sold her car, quit her job, and took a leap into the great unknown. It was a little bit scary and while she dealt with the stress of finding a job in New York City, she sometimes doubted her decision - but she never regretted it.
You probably already guessed - that girl is me. Moving to New York was a huge risk. I have taken lots of risks in my life and I have to say this is one of my favorites. I am so in love with this city. It instantly felt like home. It’s not perfect and there are hard days, but EVERY SINGLE TIME I cross the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan or emerge from the Subway into the city, my heart swells with gratitude.
I feel like the luckiest girl in the world :-)
