the traveling gypsy: brooklyn

Location: My front door: Bushwick, Brooklyn. Rotund Sunies, Nordstrom; Necklace + Chanel Inspired Blazer, J.Crew; Jeans, Rag & Bone; Booties, Lucky Brand

Since moving to New York 1.5 years ago I have officially lived in 3 of the 5 boroughs, all within the first 11 months. Let me you tell you it is just as bad as it sounds, if not worse. But you know what it taught me? That moving, despite mental health professionals placing the extreme emotional stress it causes on par with death of a loved one and divorce, is something I can do all by myself. In a big way. I am actually pretty proud of myself for figuring it all out without the help of anyone else. Good to do before I moved abroad? :-)

Impressed by the interiors of the real estate office I visited after 4 months of living in BK [trying to leave] 

Do I wish this experience on anyone? Absolutely not. And if I'm honest I would have done some things differently so as to avoid the frequency of my moves. Did it make me stronger? Hell yeah. Did it give me more confidence in myself? Definitely.

The first place I landed was in Bushwhack, Brooklyn. I tried to make it work as long as I could. To be honest - it's not worth it. As a place, it's far removed and terribly inconvenient if you have to be in Manhattan everyday for school/work. Positives: extremely diverse population [aka I was oftentimes the only white person,] the long commute gave me time to reflect and think, trains derailed from entering Manhattan taught me extreme patience and most of all living in such an uncomfortable place allowed me to have profound appreciation for my current situation.

#1 LESSON: 

If you always have it good you don't know how good you have it

hot child in the city!

Sweater: Missoni for Target; Destroyed Denim: Rag & Bone; Necklace: Happiness Boutique, Sunglasses: Prada; Platform Suede Shoes: Steve Madden

Location: Greenwich Village, NYC

At long last - my first outfit post from NYC! These photos were captured during my first week of orientation at Parsons. As you can see from the smile on my face, I am absolutely ecstatic about starting this new life of mine. I have never been surrounded by so many like minded people that share similar interests blended with an ambitious drive to create/do something bigger than themselves. It is incredible but also slightly intimidating. As recent as yesterday, I have officially completed my first week of classes and let me tell you: I dramatically underestimated how much work graduate school actually is (even when it's something I find terribly interesting!) I found myself asking these questions: Can I do this? Do I really want to do this? Is this worth the investment? However, it occurred to me, that's just the fear and self doubt talking.. as a good friend once told me, "Kelly, people don't do things all of the time because they are scared. The thing is, fear is never rooted in rational fact, ever. Don't believe me? Multiple studies support this notion. Fear is something constructed personally based on your own experiences of life. You have nothing to be afraid of." Remembering this quote during this transition is beyond comforting..

As happy as I am that I made the decision to move across the entire country alone with no support from family, financially or otherwise; this has been anything but a smooth transition. I won't go into all the details now but, damn! Silver lining: I am learning one hell of a lot about life! So much more than I ever could have if I stayed in California. I also finally feel like a fit somewhere, I feel at home in NYC, a feeling I never had in California. I know this adjustment period is temporary, the word fortitude comes to mind when I think about my life at this present moment.

Thought you might enjoy this: @ The New School, University Center for the first time. You can't fake a smile that big! 

They, (whoever they are) say the things worth doing in life are also the most challenging, what do you think? Thank you all for your tremendous support always. I feel lucky to have such a supportive blogging community behind me.

XOXO

Kelly