The Concrete Jungle

"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, let's hear it for New York
New York, New York" --Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind

The words would make any New Yorker proud to live where they do. To me, a Rhode Islander (trying feel brand new on the streets of the Big Apple), these lyrics give me hope.

While furiously applying to job after job, I continue to dream about the day I walk six blocks home in 3-inch stiletto heels to my small studio apartment on the Upper East Side, after a long day of interviewing and writing copy about the latest Brangelina scandal. In my dreams, the first thing I do when I get home is kick off my shoes (and by that I mean put them back in their exact spot in the closet since I tend to be a neat freak), check my e-mail because I left work 45 minutes ago and surely I have unread messages, and finally I raid my fridge and see what I can whip up for a so-called dinner. In a perfect world, I would try to fit a good hour of cardio workout in there at the gym, but for now I'm still dreaming. After dinner is when I sit down in front of my laptop and try to bang out a few more chapters of the trashy romance novel that I write in my spare time. In an even MORE perfect dream, my tall, attractive, and witty boyfriend would knock on my door and surprise me just as I am writing the last sentence to end the chapter. But reality sets in and I am still currently in my small town in RI and not in the "concrete jungle where dreams are made of."

However, Jay-Z along with a little help from Alicia Keyes, tell me that there's nothing I can't do while in New York. So for now, I will continue to let the big lights inspire me and my dreams, but you better believe that I will have a jumbo size bottle of Ambien ready for the day I get called to the city that never sleeps.