Today marks my 2nd year in NY. It feels only like yesterday my cat shoved himself into my luggage bag.

Before I knew it I was face to face with snow for the first time in my life.

“New York forces you to grow up fast,” a friend said to me this weekend. He couldn’t have been more right. Every single day you’re given a new challenge that makes you think faster and learn quicker than you ever thought possible. Changes are made daily; you need to learn how to adapt.

I’ve learned quite a bit over the past 2 years. Here are a few secrets I’ll let you in on:

1.) It will never get any easier. Ever. There will always be snow, rent, tourists, homesick-ness, and everything comes at a cost because lets face it, it still annoys me that you have to pay for the beaches here.

2.) Ignore the haters. Inevitably someone will cut you in line (and never apologize), no one will ever give up their seat for you, and you may face a time when someone will throw you under the bus. Hear me out. The truth is there’s far too much competition here. Everything needs to be fresh and fast, simply because there are too many talented people here. Everyone wants to be seen. My advice, ignore the haters. Master getting people’s attention without excuses, without sacrificing someone at the cost of your benefit. They may think they’ve accomplished something, but in the end they are still the same — mediocre at best.

3.) Stop questioning the city. At some point you will eventually learn to accept it for who it is – Like a pain in the ass family member, who in the end you love regardless of all their faults. Because the reality is this place changes you. I would never have had the opportunity to do 2% of the things I’ve done here back at home. Looking back I’ve been a part of some amazing companies, made some good friends, and with all the things I’ve been able to experience I feel truly blessed and lucky.

There is really nothing like taking that leap into the unknown and knowing you will probably fail. The key is to fail harder again and again. Because those who have it easy, those that are so naturally successful aren’t nearly as interesting as those that fail, learn, get up, and tries it all over again…. (Look at Kim Kardashian, she’s got to be the most boring celebrity ever. As Grumpy Cat said it best, “I wish I had her talent of having no talent, and getting paid for it.)

This journey has been both exciting and terrifying. But there is nothing quite like that feeling of figuring it all out – The Uncomfortable Zone. I’m not sure what’s in store next but I do know that I’m excited about the adventure. And I do know I want to continue to write it all down, whatever it might be so I’ll never forgot.

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It wouldn’t be a true Nicole post without lots of photos so here is a #2yrRecap: