I’m Just Me ~ I’m a New Yorker
By Tess Mangiardi ~ Metro Girl Notes
I’ve found that people tend to sit in awe when I tell them that I live alone in New York City at 19 years old and haven’t lost my mind yet. It’s almost as if they expect me to explode at any minute or break down and beg them for a dollar so I can buy 99 cent pizza from the place near my apartment. There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who expect me to combust right in front of them and the ones who think my life is an episode of Gossip Girl. It’s true that supporting yourself in a big city has it’s downsides and it’s also true that living in New York City at 19 is sometimes all sorts of glamorous. However, I still haven’t lost my mind and I’m still not famous. Despite the fact that I live in a studio apartment all alone and have never once been to a real frat party, I am simply the average 19 year old girl. I just happen to live in the best city in the world. I’m not any different, my life isn’t a reality TV show (though sometimes I wish it was), and I’m definitely not about have a mental breakdown at any moment.
I’m just me. Tess Mangiardi, a 19 year old girl, a writer. Me.
However, I’d be lying to you if I said my life was normal. I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now though. I don’t really think you can make it in NYC if you lead a normal life. Everyone here has their own set of quirks, their own “I-wish-my-life-was-filmed-by-MTV” moments that people who lived elsewhere could never understand. No one really ever understands, not until they live here. New York City is filled with connections, and that is why I moved here from Orlando two years ago. I want to be a writer and I knew that unless I liked writing my manuscripts on cardboard boxes, I had to move here. I had to immerse myself in this strange, quirky, other-worldly culture and I knew I had to call it home. Now, here I am. I have my own set of quirks. I’m exploring what it means to be a writer, body image, lingerie and self-love. I am a New Yorker. I am 19. And I haven’t lost my mind yet.
