"You'll be known by the company you keep."
I have heard that for many years now from my mom...I remember replying with "I'm not stupid I know that." haha I think the one thing is that you should always be aware of who you are surrounding yourself with on a daily basis and maybe think about the impression you make when meeting new people. Also maybe ask yourself a couple things like:
-Are these the type of people who are actually there for me and love me?
-Do they have my best interest in mind (and not just telling me something to make me feel good and think my assumptions are always right.)
-Are they the type of people you are one day going to invite to your future wedding?
-Do I ever hold the door for people?
-When I see trash on the ground do I pick it up or leave it?
-Also something as simple as seeing a grocery cart that someone left in the middle of the parking lot and there is clearly a buggy collector thing 2 ft away and they just "couldn't make it" so they left it. What do you do, leave it or get it and put it with the others?
I know this is somewhat of a random post but I think it's something to think about. Coming to NYC the first time around I had a major amount of bad luck within the first week whether it was the fact I got scammed or got my phone stolen(and last I looked it was located in Harlem with the iphone tracker) or maybe the fact the beautiful Hurricane Sandy came whirling in and left me without power and warm water for 7 days. Though those are pretty crappy because of the whole scammed thing I ended up staying with my boss Ryan who hired me for my internship but within the first two days of being in the position she told me she got offered another job and was leaving (Mouth to floor.) I was both surprised but insanely happy for her because it was definitely a huge opportunity and way more practical given the cost to live in the city.
Since I got scammed out of where I was supposed to live it was going to take me as long as my actual internship to find somewhere new so I ended up staying with her and her three other roommates for the remaining time. Keep in mind that most places in nyc are rather small and by small I mean go to your closet right now and that would cost about $950 to live in on a good day in new york. Ryan lucked out in finding a huge space when she was looking and had room for two (lucky me.) Though it sucked at first if it wasn't for her offering her place I would have never met some amazing people: Ryan, Pete, Adam, Lu, Ryan2, Michelle and of course the WHOLE Brightbox family. I will talk about Brightbox in a second. I am so lucky and grateful for the friendships I have already made here and can't wait to make more.
Tonight me and Ryan had a late night dinner at one of our favorite spots in the East Village--> Back Forty(make sure if you go to get their fresh doughnuts >TO DIE FOR.) We sat and talked and brought up some old memories that still crack me up and we also were talking about what's next for us and some future projects we want to help each other on. It is so crazy to me that out of something bad something GOOD can happen. It may not happen right away but having patience and laughing at your own pain and bad luck can help get you through it a little bit easier. So next time you go out and run some errands make sure to throw a smile up to someone or hold the door and instead of saying "Thank you" say "My Pleasure." May seem silly or pointless at the time but you don't know what kind of day that person is having and that simple gesture of kindness might completely change their day and or they may help you when you least expect it.
xx
Emma
PS: Check out Brightbox--It is a phone charging station that Adam Johnson one of the roommates thought of one day while being a bartender. It's amazing at all the idea's one may come up with but he actually went through with the thought and ran with it. Very inspiring to me him and his friends who helped put together such an awesome idea. Some people are pretty awesome and can help you without realizing it.
www.brightboxcharge.com >Also like the on Facebook and Twitter.