The first blog post is always the most difficult. I should know- I created two amazing blogs over the past 5 years.
Rewind to 2002- I had moved from NY to the beautiful southern California coast, for a boy no less. Long story short, fast forward 6 years later, he was gone and I was alone trying to figure out who I was and how to find my voice through my newfound singledome.
When found newly single, we have two choices: The first being to drown in the ocean of sorrow and sadness that inevitably follows and become a shell of emptiness analyzing everything that went wrong in said failed relationship, thus taking months, if not years, to move on and develop a sense of self-worth again.
Alternatively, there is option two: Become superwoman and just move on, not giving the relationship another thought and taking it for what it was (and was not) and starting fresh, focusing on yourself and your own happiness. AKA throwing yourself into a project and making your mind simply too busy to remember any part of the relationship!
I opted for option number two!
It started with Sassy- Sassy in San Diego was a lifestyle and nightlife blog I created in late 2007.
Sassy was my alter ego, if you will. She was fearless, sarcastic and was always up for getting out there, experiencing, and reporting on everything amazing about San Diego.
Within 8 months, Sassy gained fast exposure and soon landed me a monthly spot on a local radio show reporting on the newest club/restaurant/store openings and alerting listeners of the month’s events to follow.
One year later, I decided it was time to get back out on the dating scene and decided to log my dating experiences via my own SATC styled blog named: Confessions of Socialite City Girls.
Sassy and Confessions were doing very well and Confessions soon landed the attention of some influential higher ups at MTV. Within 6 months of launching Confessions, yours truly was approached for a writing position at MTV for a soon to launch reality show! I know, bananas right?!?!
At the time, it all seemed so surreal to me. I could not believe, nor did I truly understand, what was happening and how these opportunities were about to shape my future.
Decisions, decisions and more decisions
Truth be told, my breakup came with house and car not sold separately, but rather attached to the both of us. Faced with the responsibility of trying to divide the assets and dealing with the emotional toll of a very heartbreaking split after 8 years at the young age of 26, I came to the realization of having too much on my plate to take on anything full time.
I decided to turn down the job at MTV in LA and soon after, in early 2009, I made the choice to stop writing Sassy and Confessions. I needed to refocus my energy and figure out what my next big step was going to be.
Fast forward to late 2009: I decided to trade the surf and turf of the California coast for the nitty gritty streets of NY. My original stomping grounds: Brooklyn- born and bred!
Having been back for almost two years, I have finally let the dust settle and am beginning to plant my roots in New York.
Sometimes I feel like a twenty something version of Madonna in that I am constantly reinventing myself, recreating my identity, trying to figure out who I am, what I’m supposed to be doing and how I can be doing bigger and better!
Something I recently discovered while begining my journey is that figuring out who you are doesn’t come from landing that perfect job, being with the “perfect man” or having everything be just the way you think it should be. It comes through life experiences and knowing and excepting that we are constantly changing, evolving and self-discovering every day.
That’s the beauty of life. Knowing that no matter what happens or no matter where I am, I can reinvent my own wheel and recreate my thumbprint.
My search for Never Never Land is really a catalog of how I see NY. All of the wonderful and amazing people, places and quirkiness that has me falling in love everyday with NY. That, and a few “Seriously, they still do that?!?!” observations.
Just the way Never Never Land was fantasy island for Peter Pan and his lost boys, NY is the quintessential fantasy world and our own version of Never Never Land!
It’s 20 and 30 something’s in search of fulfilling what their vision of a NYC dream should be.
So come with me on my journey to find my Never Never Land and who knows, I may just bump into Tinkerbelle along the way! (Most likely in the East Village!)
I can be reached at shayna@sassypublicrelations.com
