I Hope You Never Lose Your Sense of Wonder
Often times we become easily complacent, or almost bored, with our current situation and lifestyle. I know what you’re thinking: You live in New York City and have a fabulous life as a PR superstar, shut up. And I’m here to tell you that after seven weeks in the city, New York started to lose its sparkle.
Alright, that’s an exaggeration. Simply, I’ve become immune to the Times Square glisten and breathtaking skyline portrait of the city because it became a part of my daily routine.
Wake up in the Lower East Side, walk through Times Square to the office, eat lunch by the window with a view, watch the sunset as it sets during my Central Park run, catch a celebrity at the same venue I’m in, wake up and do it again.
This seemingly black and white lifestyle affected the way I worked because I became less motivated to be that “incredible version of myself.” So, I began to reflect. What if, the glamour of this city is all in our perception of it? What if, this career magic I kept experiencing was all streaming from my actions to move forward? Why am I blaming the city for losing its sparkle when, in reality, I’ve lost my sparkle? I realized that I dug myself into a little nook within my mind and caused myself to slow down the progress I was steadily making. My next move: reignite the flame between myself, New York City and the public relations world.
Step One: Myself
Remember the saying: “You have to learn to love yourself before you can love anyone else.” It’s important to disconnect for a bit and venture out to a place that allows for self reflection. I started by running the usual Central Park Reservoir and decided to venture off into the greens of Central Park to find quiet thinking spots. Among my favorite, I really enjoyed stumbling on Turtle Pond. It’s a man-made body of water known for its high volume of turtles and other small wildlife. The great thing about this is that, aside from being beautiful, it is a “quiet zone.” This allows for the perfect scenario for self-reflection. I realigned myself with my career goals, personal goals and brainstormed on ways to grow. An occasional breath of fresh air, and fresh perspective, are essential.
Step Two: New York City
Well, since I’ve decided that I will spend at least the next decade of my life in this city, I decided to reconnect with it. As you might’ve thought, this wasn’t too hard. New York City is filled with thousands, maybe millions, of things to do, places to go, plates to eat and people to meet. After dubbing myself a “rookie New Yorker,” I’ve gotten pretty fantastic at giving friends recommended things to add on their itinerary. So, I decided I could reconnect by visiting some of these places myself. Even better, I’ve scheduled to visit far parts of other boroughs and attend events (stoked for Cony Island’s Mermaid Parade) that ignite my passion for discovery and learning.
Step Three: Public Relations World
When I was a child, I wanted to grow up to become an astronaut. Now that I’m an adult, I know I want to become someone’s publicist. Hundreds of press releases, social media accounts and media events later, everything started to blend in the same sphere. Luckily, The Zimmerman Agency in Tallahassee, Fla., the place I sadly put on hold as I’m in New York City, asked me to do an interesting project for them. They asked me to execute a morning segment on FOX & Friends for the Aruba account. WOW! seems to be everyone, including myself’s, reaction. As Z’s president, Carrie Zimmerman, mentioned, this was my first national morning show segment and I couldn’t have been prouder of the work I accomplished. This definitely reignited my need to become a key player in this field.
Now, I wake up in the morning smiling like the first time I landed in the city. I know my potential, I seek out opportunities for growth, I let my sense of curiosity and wonder take me to new places and New York City glistens again.