Hallmark Day

Today was an important hallmark in my life. I traveled to the serene, tree-lined streets of Prospect Park Brooklyn to meet with my new employer for whom I am doing two months of contract work. Today was the beginning of a dream being realized. When I was 22 and graduating from college I had my mind set on moving to NYC and going to graduate school and living a fabulous little life in the city. However, these plans did not go as expected. I got rejected from the schools that I applied to and could not find a job doing anything, which was not helped by the fact that I lived 600 miles away in North Carolina at the time. Then I got a second chance. I was put on a wait list at one of my NYU schools and journeyed there in hopes of getting in this second time around. However, that didn't work out either. I stifled my hopes of NYC living for the time being and then worked in North Carolina and lived at home for a year. I attended graduate school the next two years after that. I moved to DC but still had hopes of getting to NYC one day but not sure how it was going to happen. I was working steadily in DC from June '07 to March '08 and didn't really think that I would pursue living in DC but was content to live close enough to take the bus or train to get there for vacation or work. Then I lost my main means of support in March and I began looking for jobs in DC and in NYC. The thoughts began to re-enter my mind of finally getting to NYC. I applied for job after job and kept getting rejected. Then on one fateful day I got a call from a New York museum that was interested in hiring me. It was one of the happiest days of my life. I passed the phone interview and was invited to New York to go through the next interview. I left that interview feeling good and hoping that finally I would be headed to New York and realizing this dream I had four years ago. Sadly, that opportunity didn't work out either and I didn't know what to make of all these things going on in my life. But I had come to the realization that I was much happier when I visited New York and that DC was just not doing it for me anymore. So I focused all my efforts to getting to New York, no matter what. I did not think that I was ever going to end up having to move to New Jersey out of necessity and was really overjoyed at the fact that I was close enough to New York to pursue my work dreams. I started applying and calling and for several weeks that turned into months I didn't see any improvement. Then I began calling and networking with people in New York and that led to a contract which is basically my first New York job! It was an exciting day and I am so excited to have a research project to work on and ready to see where this all leads. I'm really thankful that after years of hoping, praying and persevering the dream is becoming a reality and I know that there is more to come!

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."