NoMad, New York. But Not Really
Truth be told I wasn’t necessarily expecting to release a blog this week, but I received a really nice message this past week. While the anonymity prevents me from reaching out personally, it didn’t feel right to disregard its significance. I appreciated the little note, and I quite possibly couldn’t say thanks enough. You have me considering publicizing my blog more. Enjoy the post!
In life, you typically only have two options in every decision you make:
Waiting until you know all the answers
Doing it and figuring it out along the way.
I wouldn’t necessarily say I predominately lean one direction over the other, but I do find that sometimes waiting can be a waste of time. While I’ve rarely been someone who planned beyond what was important, I always wanted to live in two cities: Boston & New York. Boston was reserved for college (done), and New York was always what I wanted next (sorta done). I had initially planned my move for last summer but ended up postponing it till January. Despite my effort I didn’t have an apartment or anything to facilitate a traditional move when the date came around. My options? Wait at my mom’s house until something opened up, or I pack my bags and figure it out there. Long story short - I moved anyway. I found a girl in her 20s subletting her entire apartment in the East Village for January, and left on a one-way flight! She was completely random, but also one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. My friend had picked up the key for me, so I hadn’t even seen the place until I landed…I wasn’t prepared to bring my heavy suitcase up (and down) 4 flights of stairs. But I loved living there, and was able to apartment hunt with my roommate in person. Unfortunately, I hadn’t planned for the fact that I may not have an apartment by the end of January either, so when that came around I was in an even worse position. It was a frantic 48 hours of looking around, to say the least. I was quite literally glued to my phone until I found my current beautiful sublet. The owner works for a beauty company and has a beautiful unit in Chelsea. It seems silly but I feel like a princess every time I wake up here. It has the old New York City charm while simultaneously feeling very chic. I’m kinda bummed I have to leave soon, as I finally finalize my apartment process this month. Although not particularly ideal, I couldn’t have found a better way to spend my nomadic time. It’s been so nice living in different neighborhoods and meeting people I probably never would have otherwise.
If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s to accept the presence of a problem, as there will always be one (unfortunately). If it wasn’t for my apartment situation, it would’ve been not having furniture. And if it wasn’t that, it would’ve been work meetings in San Francisco in March. When one worry resolves itself, another finds its way to become your next. As they pile up, these problems only become constraints that essentially hold you back. You’ll think that the possibilities will be endless upon solving just this last one, only to stay stagnant, busy finding resolutions to those that come afterward. Unless you’ve caught it at the right time, you’ll continue to spend days, months, or even years stuck solving the wrong problems. Moving across the country isn’t life-altering by any means, but taking the initiative to do so without a plan could be. If you are gonna have problems, let them be the ones worth solving. Waiting will always be an option, but sometimes you have to just do it - that’s what makes it so fun!
- With Love, Fiza Usman
