One More Round

Trevor Noah says, “One of the best things I ever learned was boxing. My trainer kept drilling into me: ‘Understand that I’m going to hit you in the face. You can’t get angry about it because then you’ll stop thinking rationally. I’m not trying to hurt you; I’m trying to win.’ It’s a fantastic mind game. You have to think.” After a year of living in New York, I think it’s like boxing.

My emotions can take over me in this high-energy, fast-paced environment. Some days over the last year I felt hopeful like anything was possible if I just hustled each day at work and made new friends that would provide me a support system. Other days I yearned to be physically closer to the friends I made in Atlanta, able to travel home cheaply to family and reunited with the PR agency that career raised me in college.

I’ve now learned through experience that playing in the bigger leagues of public relations comes at a price. This is a hard industry, and there are certain agencies, clients and cities that require a more emotional and mental commitment from deep within you. There were days where exhaustion took everything I had to offer the world. There have been cancelled first dates, unreturned phone calls to friends and family and weekends spent in bed with Hulu. Day in and day out I was boxing to simply stay in the game, because in New York you are only as great as your current mental state and your passion for what you do. However, the victories have been sweeter. I had to tell myself one more round, because ultimately, mediocrity is not an option for me.

New York City comes with many personal opportunities, such as a bigger dating pool and numerous potential new friends, but the reality is, I moved here for a job. I’m not ready to leave until it completely wears me down, or I feel like I’ve made my mark on everything I’ve touched here.

Signing up for the NYC boxing match isn’t about winning in the first year. It’s about coming out a better opponent.

Year 2, show me what you got.

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*all opinions are my own.*