No, I'm not talking about the Food Network.I'm talking about family. Extended, nuclear, and anything in between. Friends are priceless, even essential to the process of moving to New York, but family is something stronger. Something deeper. For most of us, it's something unshakable. It's a guarantee.
And just ask somebody looking for apartments; a sure thing is hard to come by in this town.
It's easy to get caught up in New York. Take me not posting since Valentine's Day for example. Friday was filled with working before the long weekend, the long weekend was, well, a long weekend, then Tuesday you're working to catch up for missing a day, then Wednesday rolls around and you blow half the day waiting for New York magazine's Web page to load.... Well, you catch my drift. Point is, it's easy to get lost starring at the passing lights. But perhaps one of the greatest mistakes one can make in this journey, is forgetting where it started.
I know this is a bit more serious of a tone than you may be used to from Ed's main man here, and I don't mean to come across sounding preachy (Call your mother!!). It just sort of dawned on me how easy it is to fall out of touch with friends, but how impossible it seems to be able to shake free from family. At least for me (This is as good a time as any for a moment of transparency -- My extended family, more than 25 strong, is most likely responsible for half my page views. Either by reading themselves, or recommending others to read. In fact, I'm pretty sure my Mom has set her entire office's homepage to this blog just to ensure their participation. So, obviously, this issue really hits home for me -- yes, fam, pun intended).
Overall, my message is just to remember that your most important network isn't the one that requires cups of coffee or periodic Emails to keep in tact. It's the one that will house you free of charge or buy your magazine even if appeals to them in no way whatsoever.
So next time you bust out that stack of "Thank You" cards to write that editor who interviewed you or that friend who edited your story pitch, go ahead and address one to Grandma & Grandpa. Because I guarantee that one will end up on a refrigerator instead of in a waste basket.
2 comments:
you're going to have to start talking with a new york accent. if you did, you'd never mix up "dawned" and "donned." :)
Funny, I thought I was getting better. I usually write it "dahned"
Post a Comment