Journal Journeys 1996. New York City, #13

These are my journal entries from 1996.  That was the year when things started to change for me, and for the better.  At the start of the year, I am floundering with odd jobs (or no job) and bouncing between make-shift living arrangements; by year's end, I am an undergraduate student living in a college dormitory.  I already had a two-year degree before leaving Michigan, and pursing higher education was not the reason why I moved to New York.  I wanted to live someplace exciting, and I was hypnotized and mesmerized by the bright lights of the big city.  But my life was at a complete standstill and I was going nowhere and making no progress.  Returning to college was a game changer for me, because it brought much-need security and stability at a time in my life when I had virtually none of it.  In a sense, it grounded me, and that was exactly what I needed at that time.  Though I still had struggles, looking back on it, those few short years proved to be the happiest time I spent in New York City.