It's been almost a month since I moved to New York. As it always is whenever I find myself trying to settle down in a new place, I've had a lot of thoughts. Only this time, the thoughts also relate a lot more to how I imagine my adult life (or maybe, "adult," since I don't really consider myself a real grownup quite yet) than they did before. While I have lived in new places on my own before, this isn't quite the same. Here are some thoughts that have been floating around my head this past month that I am now going to categorize.
It's best to start with what I came to this city for, isn't it? As of right now–and I am actually writing and publishing this blog entry on the same day without changing the schedule–I have completed four weeks at my job as a paralegal for Justice in Motion. (Not counting the six weeks of remote part time work I already did over the summer.) I've gotten accustomed to walking two miles a day to get to and from work and being in an office for eight or so hours. Since I spend many hours staring at a computer each day, I try to at least look up every once in a while, walk around, drink water, etc. My officemates are terrific. Since it's a very small organization, there are only six of us in the actual office, and around four who work remotely. Of the six in the office, five are women (lol poor Jeremy), and four of those are young 20 somethings. Three of the four, including myself, studied anthropology in undergrad. Needless to say, I get along really well with the girls and we always have a lot to talk about! It's nice to have people I can relate to and complain about how much it sucks living in such an expensive city on an entry level nonprofit salary, as well as people who care about the organization's mission and contribute to it in their own way. As for the people who aren't my contemporaries, they are amazingly accomplished and inspiring. I'm honored to be able to call them my colleagues and enjoy hearing about their careers and family lives.
As for the content of the job itself, I'm definitely learning more than I could have imagined. I get a lot of interaction with different legal cases involving migrants from Central America, and I get to use Spanish everyday to work with lawyers and human rights advocates (we refer to them as defenders) in our countries of concern. It's been a lot of fun but also a challenge, because they have their own wildly individual personalities and ways of carrying out their work, which I am constantly learning how to deal with. Besides these individual challenges, there are also the cultural differences I'm learning about. For instance, I had to help get to the bottom of a misunderstanding between a US lawyer and a Honduran lawyer working on a case because it required the Honduran lawyer to do something that simply isn't done in his country (in case you're curious, sending a copy of the entire relevant Honduran law rather than making reference to it or including excerpts), but common practice in the US. The matter wasn't clearly explained between the two from the get go so the task seemed to have gotten lost in translation, but in the end the lawyer from Honduras was able to complete the task. While I do a lot of work typical legal assistants might do, I find this added dimension of navigating cultural differences pretty exciting in my own nerdy way.
On a final note about my job, now is certainly an interesting time to be involved in this kind of work. I had to hit the ground running when I started because of the family separation crisis, during which the government was separating families who were arriving at the border. Our main concern was for the parents who were deported back to their countries without their kids, who remained in the USA. This was a huge catastrophe, because long story short the government sucks, large international organizations are too bureaucratic to respond immediately, and the burden on finding deported parents and reuniting families fell on a group of small NGOs. We have been part of this group and are very involved in helping make sure child reunifications happen in cases where parents want their children to be returned, and before then were involved in trying to find the deported parents and having our colleagues in Central America interview them. A lot of my work in this crisis response has been translation (I translated a brief questionnaire from English to Spanish that the ACLU wanted our defenders to use, and I've translated a few personal narratives from Spanish to English), as well as organizing records into case management systems. It's more work than it sounds like, but seeing pictures of reunited families makes it worth it. I think about how I couldn't fathom what these families have gone through, and how I might not even have the faintest sense of it until I grow up and have a family of my own. Either way, this period in time is certainly one I'll be thinking back on a lot in the coming years.
At some point in my life, I knew I wanted it to live in New York. I guess that point is now.
It's not as idyllic as college freshman me might have wanted it to be. First of all, everything is way too expensive and I don't feel like I'm making enough to properly enjoy the city. Sure I'm enjoying it, but I'm still tracking all of my expenses and trying to avoid spending money as much as possible. I never actually go into Manhattan unless I'm meeting someone, and I almost never take the subway because I walk everywhere, and everything I could need is within walking distance (except Trader Joe's). Sometimes I look longingly at new, luxury apartments and think about how nice it would be to have a washing machine and dryer at least in the building, and then tear my gaze away because there's no way I could afford such a nice place anytime soon. I see all these restaurants I want to visit and frequent, but content myself with cheap takeout places with huge servings that last me two meals, and cooking large portions that last me a few days. I will occasionally treat myself because that's important, but the life I lead here is certainly not one that an outsider would imagine a New York kind of life to be. I'm also not somebody who enjoys going out at night or shopping, so at least I don't needlessly spend money on those activities. I'm content to wander my neighborhood rather than venture out into the other boroughs, because that costs money, and I am way too good at guilt tripping myself and being frugal. I had already been to New York on numerous occasions during my four years in Boston, so it's not really an exciting novelty. Just a place where I overpay for everything and am attempting to adult for real, for the first time. On the bright side, I can actually cook now and am not afraid of the kitchen, so there's that!
Don't get me wrong, there are things I really enjoy about the city. I love how diverse it is. I love walking down the street and hearing different languages being spoken. I love all the different little shops I pass walking around Crown Heights (my neighborhood in Brooklyn) and seeing all the dogs being walked (I've only seen one pug though since I got here??). What's also great is that I already know a lot of people here, and people usually end up visiting at some point, so I'm not for want of company or of things to do with said company from time to time. There are always things to do and parts of the city to explore, and I feel like I have all the time to do it, so I don't feel any rush at all. Rather, I've found some favorite places in my area and near work. There's the banh mi place near work where I like to get lunch, the Mexican place mere steps from my apartment, and the French Senegalese cafe with an abundance of electrical outlets and lovely atmosphere, and crêpes that I will try at some point.
Since I work 9-5, I have a lot of time for myself. I've really enjoyed the ability to unwind after work and do whatever I want, which mostly involves lying down watching TV and sometimes eating chips while I do so. It's amazing not having schoolwork to worry about, and this is probably the most relaxed I've been these past few years. I feel like I have a clear mind and can think deeply about the decisions I'm making and what I truly enjoy. Part of me wishes I were saving more money than I am just for life and for my future, but if there is a time to be making little money and really learning how to budget while working a full time job, it's now. I know what I learn now will be with me as I continue growing and developing into a professional, ergo, "real grown-up." And I will always appreciate this courageous choice on my part. One day I'll be proud of myself for having lived through this time of doubt and for the experiences in this overwhelming, marvelous city I'm having and will have had.
I don't love New York enough to want to spend the rest of my life here, or to settle here and be a real adult with a career. I don't think I love anywhere enough, really, and that's completely fine. I plan on being here until I start law school, hopefully in fall 2020. Maybe I'll go to law school here, but at this point I'm leaning toward going somewhere cheaper, lol, and also less chaotic. Like Chicago, or like Boston. What I do know is that I love being in this kind of urban environment, where I don't have to find fake city noises on YouTube to play throughout the night to help me sleep. I've learned very quickly from this experiment living in Brooklyn for a month that I shouldn't make assumptions about myself and hold them to be true for the rest of time. For instance, I never thought I'd like the South or have a reason to go, but I went on a last-minute work trip to Atlanta last week to help our legal director with something and I ended up really loving it. And don't even get me started on the Midwest.
Suffice it to say that at this point, I'm trying to learn as much as I can while not thinking too hard about the future. (Well, I'm thinking about the LSAT at least, the first major step toward my law school aspirations.) I do believe that I'm well on my way to doing something I'll be passionate about, and I'm glad to be here with the job and all the challenges that come with it, inside and outside the office. For now, I've got some TV to catch up on, so I'll sign off on this blog and give myself a pat on the back for publishing something on time!
MY JOB
As for the content of the job itself, I'm definitely learning more than I could have imagined. I get a lot of interaction with different legal cases involving migrants from Central America, and I get to use Spanish everyday to work with lawyers and human rights advocates (we refer to them as defenders) in our countries of concern. It's been a lot of fun but also a challenge, because they have their own wildly individual personalities and ways of carrying out their work, which I am constantly learning how to deal with. Besides these individual challenges, there are also the cultural differences I'm learning about. For instance, I had to help get to the bottom of a misunderstanding between a US lawyer and a Honduran lawyer working on a case because it required the Honduran lawyer to do something that simply isn't done in his country (in case you're curious, sending a copy of the entire relevant Honduran law rather than making reference to it or including excerpts), but common practice in the US. The matter wasn't clearly explained between the two from the get go so the task seemed to have gotten lost in translation, but in the end the lawyer from Honduras was able to complete the task. While I do a lot of work typical legal assistants might do, I find this added dimension of navigating cultural differences pretty exciting in my own nerdy way.
On a final note about my job, now is certainly an interesting time to be involved in this kind of work. I had to hit the ground running when I started because of the family separation crisis, during which the government was separating families who were arriving at the border. Our main concern was for the parents who were deported back to their countries without their kids, who remained in the USA. This was a huge catastrophe, because long story short the government sucks, large international organizations are too bureaucratic to respond immediately, and the burden on finding deported parents and reuniting families fell on a group of small NGOs. We have been part of this group and are very involved in helping make sure child reunifications happen in cases where parents want their children to be returned, and before then were involved in trying to find the deported parents and having our colleagues in Central America interview them. A lot of my work in this crisis response has been translation (I translated a brief questionnaire from English to Spanish that the ACLU wanted our defenders to use, and I've translated a few personal narratives from Spanish to English), as well as organizing records into case management systems. It's more work than it sounds like, but seeing pictures of reunited families makes it worth it. I think about how I couldn't fathom what these families have gone through, and how I might not even have the faintest sense of it until I grow up and have a family of my own. Either way, this period in time is certainly one I'll be thinking back on a lot in the coming years.
THE CITY
It's not as idyllic as college freshman me might have wanted it to be. First of all, everything is way too expensive and I don't feel like I'm making enough to properly enjoy the city. Sure I'm enjoying it, but I'm still tracking all of my expenses and trying to avoid spending money as much as possible. I never actually go into Manhattan unless I'm meeting someone, and I almost never take the subway because I walk everywhere, and everything I could need is within walking distance (except Trader Joe's). Sometimes I look longingly at new, luxury apartments and think about how nice it would be to have a washing machine and dryer at least in the building, and then tear my gaze away because there's no way I could afford such a nice place anytime soon. I see all these restaurants I want to visit and frequent, but content myself with cheap takeout places with huge servings that last me two meals, and cooking large portions that last me a few days. I will occasionally treat myself because that's important, but the life I lead here is certainly not one that an outsider would imagine a New York kind of life to be. I'm also not somebody who enjoys going out at night or shopping, so at least I don't needlessly spend money on those activities. I'm content to wander my neighborhood rather than venture out into the other boroughs, because that costs money, and I am way too good at guilt tripping myself and being frugal. I had already been to New York on numerous occasions during my four years in Boston, so it's not really an exciting novelty. Just a place where I overpay for everything and am attempting to adult for real, for the first time. On the bright side, I can actually cook now and am not afraid of the kitchen, so there's that!
Don't get me wrong, there are things I really enjoy about the city. I love how diverse it is. I love walking down the street and hearing different languages being spoken. I love all the different little shops I pass walking around Crown Heights (my neighborhood in Brooklyn) and seeing all the dogs being walked (I've only seen one pug though since I got here??). What's also great is that I already know a lot of people here, and people usually end up visiting at some point, so I'm not for want of company or of things to do with said company from time to time. There are always things to do and parts of the city to explore, and I feel like I have all the time to do it, so I don't feel any rush at all. Rather, I've found some favorite places in my area and near work. There's the banh mi place near work where I like to get lunch, the Mexican place mere steps from my apartment, and the French Senegalese cafe with an abundance of electrical outlets and lovely atmosphere, and crêpes that I will try at some point.
Since I work 9-5, I have a lot of time for myself. I've really enjoyed the ability to unwind after work and do whatever I want, which mostly involves lying down watching TV and sometimes eating chips while I do so. It's amazing not having schoolwork to worry about, and this is probably the most relaxed I've been these past few years. I feel like I have a clear mind and can think deeply about the decisions I'm making and what I truly enjoy. Part of me wishes I were saving more money than I am just for life and for my future, but if there is a time to be making little money and really learning how to budget while working a full time job, it's now. I know what I learn now will be with me as I continue growing and developing into a professional, ergo, "real grown-up." And I will always appreciate this courageous choice on my part. One day I'll be proud of myself for having lived through this time of doubt and for the experiences in this overwhelming, marvelous city I'm having and will have had.
WHAT NEXT?
Suffice it to say that at this point, I'm trying to learn as much as I can while not thinking too hard about the future. (Well, I'm thinking about the LSAT at least, the first major step toward my law school aspirations.) I do believe that I'm well on my way to doing something I'll be passionate about, and I'm glad to be here with the job and all the challenges that come with it, inside and outside the office. For now, I've got some TV to catch up on, so I'll sign off on this blog and give myself a pat on the back for publishing something on time!
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