An experiment in openness

Hello,

I have spent a good bit of time this week reading the (adorable) blogs of good friends, of people I've never met and of people I once had an econ class with who now have incredibly cute children. I admired the level to which these bloggers desire to share the ups and downs of their lives with friends and strangers on the web. I decided to join in.

For years, I've resisted this urge to blog for one reason: I hate the word 'I'. I don't like writing about myself, talking about myself or, frankly, sharing in any way. That needs to change, and here's why:

Six months ago, I made a fairly disastrous cross-country move to New York City. From the outside, it didn't look that bad; I quickly got a job as a waitress at a bar in Queens (so NYC struggling writer) and found a real job at a prestigious institution not long after. The reality was different, though. 

I left my fun sportswriting job in Florida and moved north all on the word of a friend who wanted us to be roommates. He told me to get a one-month sublet for the month of August so that we could find a place to call our own starting Sept. 1. I'd been in the city for two weeks when that friend, one of my longest and closest, stopped returning my calls. We never saw each other. I have no idea if he even still lives in NYC.

I still live here.

I moved with the idea that this friend (and his myriad friends) would help me to become a more social, well-rounded person. What happened is I became even more withdrawn, which a young person in the city so nice they named it twice -- the second name is Manhattan -- has no right to be. And so, this blog is my experiment in openness, both to the world around me and to the idea of sharing that world. Wish me luck.

- Laura