It all started one night as a smartly-dressed, energetic looking Wall-Street type left the cute restaurant where I was cheerily hosting after class, stepped outside with an older couple, and then immediately burst back through the front door and planted himself in front of me.
I was just here with my parents and I have to say, you have such an awesome energy and smile. Would you be willing to have brunch with me? He was handsome. And he wanted to have brunch with me! But what was the first thought that went through my head? Will I be fired? The guy was attractive, but job security was my immediate concern. Luckily, it was allowed ; And so began the cannonball of my entrance into the New York dating world. As a theater student living in this magnetic, electrifying metropolis, I had a hunger to see and experience things beyond my student life in the East Village.
And thanks to a few lovely guys, I had the trip of a lifetime. Ironic, seeing as New York is the place where small-town Emily, the girl who never kissed her first boyfriend, started to blossom. Looking at a future as an actress resembling the most winding, vomit-inducing albeit thrilling ride at Six Flags, I was attracted to stability. I craved independence. And I jumped at the chance to be a part of the society I only knew from singing gigs, and not as an invited guest.
You can peep New York-era Emily below. And an artistic lifestyle that sounds romantic, magical, and the opposite of everything they were brought up to value.
And now, eight years later, here I am: Stable. And every bit a part of the life I always thought I would need to experience through someone else. Living alone suits me incredibly well. I have a community of friends who feel like the coziest, most supportive blanket in the world.
