NYC Trip #11 down in the books.
Exhausted, exhilarated and thankful is what I am for this most recent Empire visit.
From Brooklyn, to Chinatown, SoHo, Manhattan and Queens, maybe I’m getting old but the city never will. And every time I visit, there’s something new and something I learn.
I learned how to get to New Jersey by using city transit. I learned about one of my new found favorite coffee shops, Now or Never. I learned how to get back to my friends’ place in Astoria on the subways. I learned what spin class is and did my first one. I learned that to develop film is cheaper in NYC. I learned that bars do coat checks and charge to hold your coats. But most importantly, I learned how to live in the moment and to appreciate each minute.
For those that know me well, know I’m very goal oriented and list driven. So when plans are skewed, I go with the flow but sometimes I’m sad or frustrated depending on what has to be adjusted. While my friends were at work, I told myself I could go visit a coffee shop (Now or Never) a client recommended and Times Square just to get some steps in for the day and kill time. On my way back home from Now or Never, I was confident with my subway skills and said “I got this.” Fifteen minutes had passed after I boarded the 3 train, and something didn’t feel right. I checked my maps, and I was going the total opposite direction of home and was approaching the Financial District area. I hopped off quickly to get to the correct subway, and on my way back the first stop was the World Trade Center. And I was so glad in the moment that this was where I ended up. It’s a beautiful area that I wish I visited more. Funny enough, after the WTC I said I’d stop by Times Square since I know my friends who are NYC locals abhor ever visiting. I walked an extra 5 miles because the Times Square subway entrance was closed going home so I ended up walking towards Rockefeller, another spot I didn’t plan on visiting. What was the meaning of all these mishaps, a chance to lose weight?
I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and try the famous Soul Cycle class. Being in New York alone is such a push out of my comfort zone. Here I was walking into a new gym and feeling so out of place and lost the minute I stepped foot in there. At the end of the class, I couldn’t have been more grateful I gave it a shot. While, the class crushed me, I enjoyed the atmosphere and the workout. I’ve met different trainers, tried different classes, heard multiple pep talks, experienced a fair share of coaching styles. But this trainer said something that shook me. The trainer said, “Take a look at yourself in the mirror right now and tell yourself you can do it. Tell yourself you’re strong and tell yourself you love yourself. Don’t say anything less. Because if you wake up and tell yourself you can’t do it, you won’t. But turn that around and say you can and watch yourself do it.” Not the deepest quote but it’s not the just words that mattered for me but the push and motivation. This trainer who I didn’t know before the class believed in us and believed in me. Whether I ever go back to that same Soul Cycle with the same trainer is a bridge to cross later on, but they’ll never know how badly I needed to be reminded that and how I walked away feeling like I mattered.
There was a quote hanging inside Now or Never that said, “Keep breaking your heart until it opens.” In these tired moments and extra steps all around New York, all I could do was breathe and keep going. At some point I’d make it home no matter how long it took, and I did just that. I took some wrong turns, got lost and walked a whole lot of miles. But again, it’s always the journey and not the destination. Every time I visit the city, it reminds me it’s the city that never sleeps so neither do I, but since it’s the city that never sleeps my heart doesn’t either.
Thanks to my long time childhood friend Regine and her amazing roommates for the fun time, laughs, dancing and looking after me. I’ll be back again.
#ShiThead #captainPoophead #WombToTomb #TheDeadRabit #theVegans #AbeLincoln #McTwo #IjustWantAPlaceToStay #whathappenedtotheplanes
Jamie Vergara 