I'm officially a New Yorker
according to some? 10 years today baby
Ten years ago today I landed at JFK with a giant duffle bag and no job. Days before I was scheduled to fly out, my housing for the summer fell through and I had to find a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend to sublet a room to me, but it wouldn’t be available until 2 days after I arrived. Luckily my new bestie Kristin said I could sleep on her couch. I had met Kristin a year earlier through the film festival I managed, Slamdance, and we had one of those insane instant soul mate connections that you only have with a handful of people in your life. Kristin recently reminded me that when I announced I was leaving Los Angeles and moving to the Big Apple, I told everyone, “I’m doing it for Kristin” to which Kristin replied, “I mean I’m happy you’re coming but you’re not doing this for me… to be clear I am fine.” Apparently I needed a scapegoat to make this drastic decision of leaving my home state, moving across the country, to a city I’d never even visited, and had zero plans as to how I would “make a living.” Luckily I have supportive parents who were like, “this is insane but go for it!!”
The thunderstorm I witnessed in New York the day I sat in Kristin’s apartment in Astoria remains to be the most rain I’ve ever seen in my life. I think. Or that’s just the way I tell the story to myself. It was also just the first East Coast storm I’d been in so there’s that. When I left to transmit my luggage and life from that apartment to my new temporary home in Spanish Harlem, Kristin handed me an umbrella and touted, “This is the first umbrella you’ll lose in New York.” TRUE!
I remember so many of my first big feelings I had back in 2015. The sheer excitement I had from just walking down the block. Everything was so fucking cool. Every store front was fascinating. Every pigeon was beautiful. Even the trash was doing it for me. From drinking Dunkin’ (it’s not good but that was the thrill??), eating a bagel (I’d never actually had a good one), and getting lost on the subway (I drunk dialed my mom one night when I couldn’t find my way home, I was sobbing and she was like, I never should have let you move there).
In those first few months I was so shocked by how kind I found New Yorkers to be. So many (ignorant) people had warned me of the energy of these east coasters. They’re not going to be nice! They’re angry people and walking around very fast! That didn’t turn out to be true at all. They were walking fast, yes, and perhaps it was because I was a white girl with midwest energy, but so many people used to stop and say “You look lost. Can I help you?” and it was TRUE. I was a friggin’ little puppy!!! I had no idea how to order a turkey sandwich at the bodega!! Luckily none of these people pulled me into a cult because honestly if they had tried I don’t think I would have put up a fight.
I’ve been looking through some of my earliest doodles from that time. I had just started an instagram account for my cartoons and was hoping it could like… be a thing. What a concept!!!
Note the evolution of my signature… lmao.
Things that I did upon moving to New York:
stopped wearing makeup
stopped wearing bras
became tru self
Wow!!! Thank god??? People love to write about how New York changed them and I am no different. I am so relieved to be the person I am now, than the person I was ten years ago running away from sad sad Los Angeles, who wrote things in her notebook like, “I don’t think I’ve ever had an original thought.” WHAT!!! YES YOU HAVE HONEY!
I’ve noticed a conversation that’s been happening with my family this month, as I’ve been screaming to everyone, I’VE BEEN IN NEW YORK FOR TEN YEARS!!!! A lot of the response has been, what next? Are you gonna come back? Do you want to start a new chapter? Are you ever going to leave??? As if I would *poof* disappear after suffering/thriving for a decade here. My response to all these questions is, where the hell would I go??? Sure yes I’m always a little frustrated with this city and I wish I wasn’t losing the small amount of money I do have to monstrous landlords and $20 salads but live?? Anywhere else?? How could I! New York or nowhere, baby!
I swear I think New York could turn anyone into a great artist. All you have you to do is look around you. Whatever you see, draw that. I’m so grateful for the comedy these city streets have brought me.
We are all Elisabeth, really. I can’t count on my fingers the number of public meltdowns I’ve had in this city. Crying on trains, fighting with exes on street corners. I got dumped in Washington Square Park once! Starting to think I should make a map…
I’ve drawn about million images of this city so I hardly even knew what to include in here, but here’s one I hadn’t seen in awhile that made me giggle.
It’s hard to even ask myself “What if I never moved here?” I have no idea what the hell I’d be doing. Crying in LA? It’s funny because I never thought I’d live on the other side of the country from my family. I’m a major family person so it’s quite odd that I would do one thing so drastic. As a kid in Sonoma I always thought I would live in San Francisco, since that was the city when people said “The City.” Even through college and later when I arrived in Los Angeles in 2013, New York didn’t ever occur to me. So big! So far away! But honestly, I think the amount of Law & Order I consumed at a young age should have been the real signifier. That and Sex & the City. And When Harry Met Sally. And every other movie I loved. It was all in New York. Perhaps this was simply destiny!
I am obviously not unique to say I have a love/hate relationship with this city. I love to leave it, then I love to come back. Is it a toxic relationship?? Should we be in couples’ work??
To celebrate my ten years I walked The Great Saunter earlier this month, I have a full comic about that coming out next week, but I also did something else!!! I finally got a new tattoo!!!! I have one from every other place I’ve lived in and I’d made a promise to myself that I wasn’t allowed to get my nyc tattoo until I was officially a member of this city. So here’s my major unveiling…!!!
When I told my dad I was getting a Howdy Y’all tattoo he was very perplexed. I explained, “It’s ten years of me being a honkytonk gal in the big city!” He replied, “Well, I can’t argue with that.”
Thank you for reading! New posts every Friday!
ICYMI:I have a new painting at Gallery Art & in Greenpoint!
On repeat: New York, New York
Dreaming of: all the queso I’m about to eat in Austin
Don’t forget: I can make your dad a Father’s Day present!
Yes, New Yorkers walk fast, we’re friendly, we’re helpful and we don’t tolerate fools.
I left NY for Virginia in 1986 but I still consider myself a New Yorker. You can leave it, but it never leaves you…
This was a great essay about ny home town. Yes, we do walk fast and the people I meet are usually helpful. Once I was with a friend trying to decide what we wanted to do next and a person came up to us offering help.
I grew up in Astoria. I loved being able to be on 5th Ave in 15 minutes. Funny, now that I think of it, it took my father longer than that to find parking in Astoria. Happy 10th anniversary 🥳