Big City Dreamin'

i moved here to nyc chasing dreams. my dreams happened to include love (my husband) and creating art. i've been living here for 2 years and dayum! this city is something specially. most new yorkers will tell you the same thing, "i have a love/hate relationship with new york". there have been times where i straight hated this town and everything in it. but the alternative? seriously? there is none...at least not at this stage of my life. this city forces you to quit or succeed. take it or leave it. bottom line.
i can say as of late my whole disposition has changed drastically. maybe God is saying, "give this kid a break" but i'm finally getting one! maybe i always have and i just couldn't see it. but yeah...amazing things have transpired in these past 2 days (i will elaborate in the upcoming weeks). my life hasn't "changed" but my perception of life is a complete 180 from where it was even last year. maybe it's because i started believing and having faith again. for whatever reason i thought being 'mature' and responsible meant sacrificing what i love for what makes "sense". i tried that and was a miserable human being and it showed in ALL areas of my life. thanks to this whole #shameless campaign i'm back to my cooky cray-cray self. i'm really beginning not to give a damn what that stupid little inner voice thinks nor what others think for that matter! i care about responsibilities and priorities and even opinions of others but life is about living and dreaming and having fun and being free. i'm slowly but surely setting myself free from my own insecurities and mental limitations and it is SOOOOO liberating! it's so #shameless!!!
believe in yourself and just do it! if you quit something and feel great, then clearly that was the right move, but if you quit and are unhappy, i implore you to revisit those dreams. you probably simply need to try another tactic. there are multiple ways to end up at your destination. work harder, work smarter and just start thinking creatively and out the box :)

i love you guys! thanks for your encouraging words and support.

"our doubts are traitors and make up loose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt"-Shakespeare.

i'm so grateful to live in this cut throat city. 

nyc i love you for forcing me to hustle and grind it out. i wouldn't dream of having it any other way!

RENT

since being back from tdot i've concentrated my super human forces to apartment hunting in NY. competing with thousands of students is no joke! units are available 1 min gone the next. our journey started in brooklyn but being on a frugal budget we found nothing hot, then moved to chinatown which was a quick no. David's large stature prevented him from showering in their mini asian showers. now we've gone back to Harlem which of course i love. we found an amazing spot on the east side but keep getting jumped by these students! any who i'm hoping to find something for sept 1st and if we have to let those students get their groove on then oct 1st once the dust has settled. environment is key to healthy living. i've been uping my frugal budget to accommodate my artistic love for photography. living in Vancity was way too dope! it was my live/work space for under $700!!! ah those days are long gone :(
once the crib is secured i can share my shopping journey's with ya'll AND my photography AND my voice AND the rest of my life :)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MAYA & NY

my 1 year anniversary here in NY was on june 8th. in the 1 year i've spent here i've done a milestone of growing. i'd love to say i'm a millionaire, am living in a gorgeous loft and/or brownstone, have "made it", but not quite and let's be honest...this is real life. some may say i'm back at square one but i know i actually just time travelled back to the present to make a different choice and i'll keep time travelling until i make a choice that brings me to my final destination. deja vu? seemingly familiar terrain? auto repeat? no..just time travel :) i'm grateful for all the experiences i've lived both positive and negative, it makes my life that much more colourful!
speaking of colourful here's a lovely pic i took with the hubby heading to dinner to celebrate my 1 year. thank you nyc for challenging me and making me that much stronger!

all my iphone users follow me on instagram to keep updated via photos within seconds. you can click on the image or add my username: mayasworld


and some inspiring lyrics by my girl Alicia Key: Empire State Of Mind (Part II) Lyrics

Ooohh New York

Grew up in a town that is famous as the place of movie scenes
Noise was always loud, there are sirens all around and the streets are mean
If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere, that's what they say
Seeing my face in lights or my name on marquees found down on Broadway

Even if it ain’t all it seems, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York, New York, New York!

On the avenue, there ain't never a curfew, ladies work so hard
Such a melting pot, on the corner selling rock, preachers pray to God
Hail a gypsy cab, takes me down from Harlem to the Brooklyn Bridge
Some will sleep tonight with a hunger far more than an empty fridge

I'm gonna make it by any means, I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These street will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York, New York, New York!

One hand in the air for the big city,
Street lights, big dreams all looking pretty
No place in the world that can compare
Put your lighters in the air, everybody say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

In New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Now you're in New York!

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These street will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York!