2011 was definitely a strange year for me.
It wasn’t that I felt restricted before 2011, but I never felt like there was any purpose to these things I was doing. I was just doing them because that’s what the plan said. I didn’t love the things I was doing but I didn’t hate them. I was indifferent.
Things began great in 2011; trips to Los Angeles and DC really made me feel happy. I got to work with people I never thought I would. I didn’t ever feel in Austin, what I felt in LA and DC. And it wasn’t because of Austin; it was because I was in my shell. I had to go out, interact, drink, and make the most of the day in these places.
SXSW brought new opportunities and experiences. I honestly never had a better time in my hometown. It was at this point that I became obsessed with going to New York. The one thing most people I knew had in common was that they were from New York.
By the end of the summer I had been three times. All in all I spent a little under a month and a half in the City. Each time was better than the last; I got more comfortable working around the city and going at things on my own. I always had great company with me and I loved the way being in that city made me feel. Especially when Kanye showed up.
I don’t want to make it seem like I’m chasing a feeling. Different places and opportunities that I wasn’t expecting made me figure out who I wanted to really be and what I really wanted to be doing. I don’t have my heart in school and it feels like I might as well finish since I’m so close. But there are so many things I don’t want to give up on in New York.
I didn’t feel like I wasted much time in 2011. Tonight, I want to say thank you to everyone new I met, old friends, people who flew me places, forced me out of my bubble and gave me shelter. This was without question the best year of my life, and you guys were the biggest reasons why.
Celebrate the year, have some drinks, and be careful. You deserve it.
