C-cake collections: Life Lessons in Big Apples.

Hey, Blog. It's been a while... my bad.

(Now that we've acknowledged my lengthy hiatus from this place, let's move on to what I'm learning right now.)

I've been learning a TON in New York City, and I figure it is about time to share some of my musings and experiences. Perhaps to an audience of one, but hey, my mom would probably read your blog too if you asked her. (Thanks mom.)

(Back step: once upon a time in the fall of 2008, on the 4th floor of the Harold B. Lee Library, I made the incredible discovery that Graphic Design students in the BFA program do internships in New York City.

aka... MIND BLOWN.

Naturally, I spent many daydreams calculating unrealistic finances, envisioning the lovely life I could live for three months in NYC, and what exactly needed to happen in order to make this dream happen. Those daydreams probably were always at the wrong time, when I should have been doing other things, but...

Fast forward to March 2014 and the surreal reality of being offered an internship for this summer in NYC.

Bottom line: Daydreams are actually really great motivators. At least that's what I'm telling myself these days. :)

And so here I am, in New York City, doing something that has been in the works for about 6 years. Which is so bizarre. Getting to this point has been super crazy, with all the time and change of plans and changing of mindsets and expectations and realities... so yeah.

So anyway. In the coming posts will be some fallacies I've discovered, thoughts I've had, and experiences that have taught me a lot. But because I know attention spans are short, I'll just include one for now, and lots of pictures, because we all like pictures. :)

Fallacy #1: New Yorkers are Mean.

No they are not. Here's some evidence:

- I was coming home from a long and rough day. I got off the train and headed towards the stairs. As the train whizzes by, the MTA guy (his job is to stick his head out the window and make sure civilians don't get smushed in the closing doors) reached his hand out and waved goodbye to me. I waved back, and he gave me a thumbs-up sign, just quickly enough for me to see before he disappeared into the distance. I don't know that guy, but I'm going to find him someday in heaven give him a high-five.

- More than once, as I come up out of the subway station and stare cluelessly at my phone while trying to orient myself, someone has offered to give me directions.

- I couldn't decide what kind of donut to get, and when I told the lady in line behind me she could go ahead because I had no idea what I wanted, she gave me a 3 minute discourse on why the raspberry ones were her favorite and that I really should try the other three just to be sure, and wished me good luck in my final decisions.

- On my birthday I wanted THE BEST red velvet that NYC had to offer, and I had already scoped out Two Little Red Hens as the destination. (Fabulous. Seriously.) When I was buying my cupcake it came in passing that it was for my birthday. The cashier handed me back my cash and stuck a candle in it, and wished me a happy birthday.

- When I was living in Brooklyn (for the month of May), I would walk past blocks and blocks of people sitting on their stoops, and if I ever said good morning or good afternoon to any of them, I always got a positive and friendly response. Granted, some might have been a little more friendly than others, but for the most part, we became friends.

- A recent MFA student (masters of fine arts) saw me writing notes about my BFA project (bachelors of fine arts) while we were in the subway station, and he brainstormed with me for the next 30 minutes about what I could do. It was awesome and super helpful, and we parted ways in smiles and cheers. It was great.

I won't say I haven't seen anything rude, but I will say the mass majority of interaction is based in common courtesy and genuine kindness. New York has a big soft spot in its heart.