So I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, mostly while I wandered the East Village this past weekend drinking in the rest of summer and snapping little visions. And I know for every one of you who loves to read my blog and see my pictures, there’s probably 2 or 3 who find it incessant and most likely unsubscribe from me or unfollow me. Now, I know I post A LOT, (Really even I am aware of this I promise), so I wanted to give you a little bit of insight into they Why of it all.
When I first moved to New York I found it INCREDIBLY intimidating. (Also I had a blackberry). I was frightened to walk 5 blocks back to my apartment, I hated the subway, I hated the smells, I hated the rats, the bugs and all of the trash. I had a really hard time. It took me at least half a year to start to like it, and to live comfortably. New York is 100% somewhere you have to actively live, and if you don’t you kind of get washed away like a day old sandacastle. Or you become a New York City ghost. SO what does this have to do with all of my posts/pictures/blogposts/hashtags? Well first of all I started working in Social Media Analytics. So I got to have an almost insiders access to research that showed me what worked and what didn’t, what people liked and what they didn’t. Again this was pretty hard to learn, it’s not as intuitive as it may seem. So I acted like a sponge. I absorbed all of it, and I kind of fell in love with all of the research and the niche it represents, and that’s how I learned about all of the hashtags. Using the top hashtags on Instagram is the easiest way to get more followers and to share with more people. Secondly, I figured out that instead of actively hating and despising New York and wishing I was living at home with my bedroom with a window, with trees, and grass, and good smells and long runs, that I had to figure out a way to LIKE New York.
At first I don’t think it was an active decision, I think it was more self preservation. I had to pay attention to the moments that made me happy. And that took me months to figure out. It’s always easier to go back to your apartment after a long day and cuddle up with netflix and your bed, but I started to convince myself to go out. I went on dates. I met up with new friends. I made friends with people who had only been acquaintances before. And I started to fall in like with New York. I started to LOVE all the incredibly tasty things she had to share with me. I started to love the way the light hit some of the apartment buildings and streets after it rained. I started to love street carts with iced coffee, and 24 hour delis, and stale bars with pool tables. And so I started to capture all of these moments.
This blog is an extension of all the pictures I capture and share on Instagram, and it’s a virtual wardrobe for me to store all of my memories. I consider it a moving, living, breathing piece of personal art. I absolutely love to write, and I’ve written blogs before, blogs filled with poetry, with study abroad experiences, with tragedy and with comedy. And this gives me a chance to share what I find. And make no mistake, that’s what this is about, I simply want to share my experience, both with you and with myself. And I know some of you may find it incredibly obnoxious, or just way too much content, but for every person who unfollows me or who unsubscribes from me, I know there are others who love to share my (mostly delicious) adventures. Because that’s all this really is, it’s a prettier form of sharing. It’s what I brought to show and tell. And it reminds me of all the happiness that New York can bring me even on the darkest of days.
Almost Faymous 