**Please note that I am scatter brain who doesn’t proofreadÂ
Had the pleasure of traveling to New York, D.C., and Dallas these past two week and it was absolutely INCREDIBLE!Â
First stop: New York City
This was my first solo trip, so I was pretty nervous. But to be completely honest, I think was more afraid that I would come to New York and just feel completely lost. For months I pushed so hard to get firms to move me out after college, and now that it was finally happening, I began feeling like I had fallen in love with the idea of New York instead of the city itself. Needless to say, I lightweight freaked out on the plane.Â
I’m happy to say that my fears quickly disappeared after roaming the streets of Manhattan. It was a relief when I successfully took the subway for the first time (with the help of Google Maps, of course) and was able to make conversation with random strangers. Plus, I’m a pretty independent person -- so being able to do whatever I felt like at my own pace was weirdly empowering.Â
Traveling alone came with... eating alone. I’ve never eaten by myself at a restaurant, so initially I was super service. Like what would I do the entire time? Look at my phone? Read a book? Lucky for me, I was able to chat with really cool, interesting people at almost every meal. Who knew it was so easy to meet new people!Â
All in all, I absolutely loved New York and can’t wait to move to the city. But there are definitely some things about the city that I just can’t wrap my head around. I’ve listed a few of them below.Â
New Yorkers don’t use reusable water bottles. And water fountains are scarce.Â
It smells like shit everywhereÂ
There are no trashcans. Nobody recycles. Or composts.Â
It’s super humid and RAINS during the summer. And when you’re waiting for a subway all you can do is sweat and wait.Â
I was definitely sad to leave the city but really excited to go to D.C. I’m a huge US history nerd, so the fact that I was able to come to D.C. for an accounting conference was a dream come true. My flight to DC ended up getting delayed 6 HOURS, but after hours of Netflix and a 44 minute flight, I finally made it to the Nation’s Capitol!
All three days in D.C. were super eventful. Most of the time, I stayed at the hotel and listened to guest speakers to learn more about the firm and public accounting (HOW FUN), but we were given a few hours to explore. On the way back to the hotel the first day, I got to see a quick glimpse of Obama as he was driving to a conference. It was also awesome walking the mall and being able to see all of the historic monuments with new friends. The Lincoln Memorial was absolutely breathtaking (I swear I almost cried when reading the Gettysburg address) and running around D.C. in the pouring rain for a scavenger hunt was quite the experience. But I think my favorite was eating dinner and being able to explore the National American History Museum after hours. Absolutely INSANEÂ
After an amazing 8 days on the east coast, I finally made it home (after a 3 hour delay, of course). It felt so great to sleep in my own bed and eat fresh fruits and veggies, but to be honest I didn’t get to hang out with my mom and sis much. I ended up sleeping a shit ton because of 1) the time change and 2) the lack of sleep. Before I knew it, the day had already ended and I had to leave for SFO the another accounting conference in Houston (also my first time). To be completely honest I wasn’t super pumped about this conference because it was in Texas but after meeting my roommate I knew I was in love! I didn’t really get to see much of Houston, but had such an amazing time getting to know my possible future coworkers. I was the only person from the west coast reppin the NYC team (I WILL REP CA UNTIL I DIE), so it was great meeting people from all over the east coast! After countless activities and a ridiculous amount of embarrassing events and intense projects, I knew it was love. Those three days flew by so incredibly fast, and I’m so sad its already over. But I’m so ready to visit the office in a few weeks (for NY trip #2 :D) and explore New York once again -- with some new friends, of course!Â
It’s been a few days since I’ve been home, and all I have been able to think about is how incredibly lucky I am. I just think about all I have been blessed with these past few years and can’t help but feel so fucking grateful every day. These past few trips have shown me that hard work really does pay off, and that to become successful, you’ve got to pull through and get shit done.
