This calls for a celebration
Oh, hi friends!
Today’s my 10-year New York anniversary!
This has made me more reflective than even the biggest birthdays, so yesterday I started digging through old emails to see what’s changed, and what hasn’t.
I was touched to find anxious, excited emails to people whose friendships have survived a decade and 3,000 miles (Ravi, Alex, Marissa, thank you for always listening, and Emily, thank you for also buying a one-way ticket!). I found notes from kind folks who offered to connect me to people they knew in publishing in New York (I still remember every person I met with or who answered me back). I found emails scrounging up freelancing work in the days after graduation (I guess I’m never gonna shake the side gigs!).
Back then, I was hungry and grateful to scoop up $10 an hour assignments. To meet. To find…something, I didn’t know what. To work with words?
Well! Still hungry and grateful, still meeting, still juggling, still working with words. Still always thinking I haven’t done much of anything…yet.
But what’s kept me here after all these years (beyond the theater and the Levain cookies and the Brooklyn Bridge) are the hundreds, probably thousands (!!!) of people I’ve met who are also trying and striving and looking towards the future.
Maybe we’ve met once. Maybe now we’ve been friends for 10 years. (Hi, Jane! Hi, Charlotte!) Maybe you've moved away. Maybe we’ve never met at all. Maybe I watched you on the subway and saw the skyline behind you and thought to myself, ‘Am I really here?’ (Still happens once a month.)
But these people—you—have imprinted on me and taught me more about myself and the world and the city than I knew my wee brain could hold. That’s when I see how far I’ve traveled. And that makes me incredibly happy.
So if you have a second, don't wait until your own anniversary. Take a look back now.
Where were you ten years ago?
Who were you with?
What did you want?
And who are you today?
PS — Happy birthday, Marissa!!!
How perfect. Thank you, Joshua Henry!
My friend Abby Reisner wrote an entire cookbook all about that signature, singular condiment: ranch. (Ranch Buttermilk Waffles?! I'm dead.)
Such a blast from the past. Reminds me of high school in Hanford, California: Round Table pizza with a side of ranch dressing. Was there anything more delicious? Ranch: An Ode to America’s Beloved Sauce in 60 Mouth-Watering Recipes comes out in September, pre-order now!!!
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara