One year in New York City

The first time I heard the song Welcome to New York, my reaction was something along the lines of "Eh, decent song, except she's wrong. West Coast Best Coast."

I would like to formally apologize to Taylor Swift for doubting her and state for the record that she was absolutely right.

Today is the one year anniversary of me touching down at LGA and dragging two overstuffed suitcases to Brooklyn, woefully unprepared for the cold. My sister came up on the train the next day to help me apartment hunt and mocked me for questioning why she wasn't zipping up her jacket given that it was "literally freezing" outside (narrator: it was not).

It's been a whirlwind of a year, and nothing describes New York City better than "it keeps you guessing / it's ever-changing / it drives you crazy / but you know you wouldn't change anything".

I mostly feel like a "true New Yorker" now, having gotten stuck in the subway (I love it though), walked across the Brooklyn Bridge (also love it), and e-biked up and down all of Manhattan (very much love it).

I met and photographed Chris Smalls, spoke at HOPE 2022 and rode a bunch of trains. I have tried at least 25 different boba tea shops and somehow the best one is literally the one closest to me.

New Yorkers get a bad reputation for being unfriendly, but my experience has been the opposite. From my friends (and family!) that helped me move my stuff here and find an apartment to the Wikimedia NYC folks who made me feel at home right away, everyone is super nice and was excited that I moved. (Also couldn't have done it without the cabal, you know who you are.) I'm very grateful and hope I have the opportunity to pay it forward someday.

I still miss California and the West Coast mentality but I miss it less and less every day.