so… moving to new york didn’t fix everything

I romanticized New York like so many fresh grads do. After interning here in 2022, I imagined that moving back would snap me into my life’s purpose — independence, creative momentum, a more vibrant social life. But somewhere between poker sessions, late-night DoorDash orders, and 3AM doomscrolling, time started to melt. There’s this quote I saw recently on my For You page, from one of my favorite coaches in world soccer, Jose Mourinho. “I am 56 now and yesterday, yesterday, I was 20… today I’m 56. Time flies, time flies.” When I first heard him say it years ago, it hit me as a reflection on how time speeds up as you get older. But now that I’m 24, this quote speaks more to me about wasted potential — about how you don’t even feel it slip until it’s gone. For the first 5/6 months living in New York, life felt like I was just going through the motion, recycling the same just good enough excuses. “I’m young, now’s the time to have fun!” “I haven’t worked on it yet, I’m just researching an

I romanticized New York like so many fresh grads do. After interning here in 2022, I imagined that moving back would snap me into my life’s purpose — independence, creative momentum, a more vibrant social life. But somewhere between poker sessions, late-night DoorDash orders, and 3AM doomscrolling, time started to melt. There’s this quote I saw recently on my For You page, from one of my favorite coaches in world soccer, Jose Mourinho. “I am 56 now and yesterday, yesterday, I was 20… today I’m 56. Time flies, time flies.” When I first heard him say it years ago, it hit me as a reflection on ho