Ladders...and lots of Shoots
I can't remember how often friends and strangers have quoted Sinatra's famed line: "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere". In fact, I've heard it so many times, anywhere is starting to sound pretty damn good. One of the problems with "making it" in New York is that progress is almost unmeasurable.
Not only will you constantly be trumped by the inevitable advantages of the rich and famous (nepotism, plastic surgery, whatever you want to call it), but the standards are ever changing. Brooklyn is the new Manhattan, heels are out and flats are in, hell, riding the subway might even become cool now that you have to make over 30k a year to afford it.
Making it here is like baking a cake in a vortex. You think you have a simple recipe requiring only time and elbow grease, but when you look back to check the measurements, the rules have completely changed, the oven temperature is too hot and you brought the wrong ingredients!
When I moved to NYC, I brought my "A" game; an applicable degree from one of the best Journalism schools in the country, the humbleness required to sleep on the floor of a shit-hole apartment for the first 6 months and enough willpower to get me through a few years acting as head footstool in a variety of media companies. I'm starting to think that, in spite of Sinatra's mantra, I brought the wrong ingredients.
The worst part is, I don't know what I'm missing. I may need to reserve a spot on the train to anywhere...
.de
5 comments:
It sounds like your definition of "making it" is based on externalities that are out of your control -- you are comparing yourself to others.
If you change your definition to be based on internal factors, you might find that you have "made it" farther than you thought. Or if not, at least it becomes measurable.
Are you happier now than when you got there? If not, maybe the ingredients that you need are the ones that will make you happier...
Jeremy,
That's an excellent point and something I hope I'll rely more on as I grow old and wise :-)
Well, I'm glad an old fart like me can impart some wisdom upon you. :)
Chef D-Train,
You're there. I'm here. My pantry seems empty. Meanwhile, you were able to whip up something awesome with what you had, and now I want a piece.
You can't be getting tired of eating the same thing each night...it's the effing Big Apple! Don't let what you've made go rotten.
-Bus boy Steve
Fair 'nuff homes, fair 'nuff
Post a Comment