Summer 2016 Week 3-4 (May 30-June 5; June 6-12, 2016)

First Apartment in New York City!

The first four weeks of my first legit summer in New York City have been a transition. I was living in the apartment of two wonderful generous human beings from my class while I went in search for a place of my own to stay for the duration of my entire second year of training.
It's been crazy. I have seen 16 apartments in New York City in the areas of Inwood, Washington Heights, Harlem and Brooklyn. I've been balancing this with work-study in Juilliard (library work and ushering) to earn money for living expenses. After a month in limbo I have finally secured and moved into my first apartment in New York City!

Washington Heights!

Common Area of 3 Bedroom/1 Bathroom Apartment

This whole process has been a journey all in itself. I had lived in my parents' house during the first 26 years of my life in the Philippines and so learning to live on my own is it's own unfolding. From discovering what it is I like and don't like in a home or haven, choosing what to buy from the supermarket for the week, preparing my own meals and washing my own dishes, and most importantly, learning how to communicate my needs and desires openly and directly to the people I encounter in my search for a place of my own.

Though the beginning of this journey was fraught with anxiety and uncertainty, it had led me into deeper relationships with the people who have supported me throughout this process. It also made me discover a newfound grace within that I did not know could co-exist in the midst of uncertainty until now.

With my Godmother visiting New York for work, who has been instrumental towards the tail end of my first NYC apartment journey

On the morning after I spent my first night in my room, I woke up to the sight of moving white clouds in the blue sky from my window directly beside my bed. As I lay there taking in my first view, the thought that came to mind was, "Well done, Regina. Well done."