Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

My Last Night in New York and Thoughts on Being Fabulous

Korrin B.

September 1, 2009 - 7:00 PM

I have a journal that I dedicate solely to travel. I write in it when I'm traveling, so that I may remember all of the beauty of those moments. On the cover of the journal, there is a quote by George Moore that reads, "We travel the world in search of what we need and return home to find it." I bought this journal for my travel writings because I loved this quote so much. Whenever I travel, I feel amazing. I feel like a new person and like I'm growing so much stronger and learning so much about life (because I am). When I first came home from Greece last year, it was hard to go back to the reality of things. However, when I think of this quote, it all becomes clearer. I learn so much while I travel, but perhaps the true beauty will come when I can find what I find in travel, in my own backyard. So, now at the end of my travels I take a moment to think about what the main message was that I got from my trip. On my last night in New York, I found the answer and it starts with an "f" and ends in an "abulous."

On August 30 I got on the Long Island Rail Road Babylon line to Penn Station one last time. I figured I would go to Coney Island since I hadn't been yet. First, however, I wanted to see if I could make it back to Saks Fifth Avenue to have a cup of cocoa at their glittery chocolate bar on the eighth floor. I would have to get there from Penn Station quick though because it was a Sunday and Saks closed at 6:30pm on Sundays and I was getting into the city around 5:50pm. Since there was subway construction going on, I couldn't just take the E train uptown, but I read the instructions to take the A and then make a transfer to the F, so I confidently hopped right on the first A that came by. It turns out that this A train was the express uptown - not what I wanted. I soon found myself at the 125th Street stop in Harlem. Getting right back on in the opposite direction, I started to question my plans. Maybe I shouldn't go all the way to Coney Island in Brooklyn alone. But, Saks is closed by now, so where else would I go? I've already been everywhere I've really wanted to see. I decided that I'd stop at Times Square to think things over some more and to figure out what line would actually take me to Coney Island anyway. At one stop, the door opened and I saw a large sign for the D train, saying "to Coney Island." I thought, should I rush out and just jump on the first D that comes by? Maybe this is a sign that I should just go? As the door closed, I was convinced that I had just missed out on my opportunity for adventure. I got out, instead, at the 42nd Street Times Square stop.

However, I soon found out that it wasn't the Times Square stop. It was the 42nd Street Port Authority stop. As I walked up the stairs and into Area X of the Port Authority Bus Terminal, I realized that I had taken the right path. In this open building was where it had all begun. On June 16, 2009, I had drug my luggage in through those same double doors, searching for the rest of the Fresh Air Fund staff. I thought of the lost look that must've been on my face. I could see myself standing outside, searching through my papers for someone to call for further directions and then seeing two guys with a lot of luggage and wondering if they were looking for them same thing. His name was Mark and he was from Harlem and this was his first year working for the Fresh Air Fund too. He was with his friend who had found where we were supposed to go. I remember standing in this new group of people in the Port Authority lobby wondering what in the world my summer was going to bring me this time. It was now August 30, 2009 and I could see all of this so clearly. Then, I stopped and looked at myself now, standing there. I could feel the change. I knew all of what I had become.

I walked out into the street and as muggy hot dog smelling air blew through my hair and tons of people passed by in a hurry and as tourists stood taking photos of police riding horses - I knew I had taken the right path and so I smiled. I put on my confident strut and fabulously moved forth through the crowd, toward Times Square. In my mind, thoughts raced about how I could describe this place, what I had learned, what I wanted to take with me. So, the first coffee shop I saw, I walked in, got an iced chai, and sat down to journal. I looked like I belonged there, as students sat around me doing their homework or fiddling on their laptops. I was confident. I was independent. I was - fabulous.

After much journaling, the sun had set and so I began my fabulous strut into busy Times Square. I instinctively bought a pretzel from a street vendor and took bites of it as I continued fabulously through the crowd in my black and hot pink dress. My pretzel tasted like hot dog, but I wouldn't have expected anything less. I saw a group of people giving out free hugs. I thought about how much I love the Free Hugs Campaign people at the University of Oregon who stand near the amphitheater some days and, well, give out free hugs. I walked over and fabulously hugged them all. After having a fabulous conversation with them about their group and their efforts to create more joy in the world, I bought one of their "free hugs" buttons to help support their campaign. As I continued, I had a fabulous laugh listening to a man who was selling "Obama condoms." "The best way to get yourself through hard times, the Obama condom, right here, ladies and gentleman! Just what you need for your stimulus package, right here in New York!" he announced, smugly. Continuing on, I decided to share my fabulousness, so I gave a good donation to the Coalition for the Homeless as I walked by the table they had set up. Next, I walked by a very classy looking little restaurant and bar, so I went in, had a fabulous strawberry martini with my fabulous self, left a fabulous tip, and then went right on my fabulous way. I impulsively bought an I Love NY button, as I decided to make my fabulous way back to the Port Authority subway station for one last reflection.

Back at Penn Station, I bought my final Black and White cookie (I've become addicted...that and Dunkin Donuts iced coffee, light and sweet) and waited for my train's track number to appear on the big screen. When it did, in true New Yorker fashion, I rushed off with the crowd toward it, basically doing some intense power walking, if not a light jog. I love this about New York. They always rush off to their train in such a manner that you would think that the track was not just twenty feet away and that there wasn't a whopping fifteen minutes to walk that twenty feet. I love New York! I sat and relaxed as my train took me away from the greatest city on earth. The next day I'd be on a plane home, but I knew I would take New York with me. For New York had taught me something, this night, as well as through my entire journeys around it.

Being fabulous is a necessity in life, not a luxury. Everyone should live their lives as if they are too fabulous for words. Each day should be one fabulous event after another. Some may think that you have to be rich to do this or to have all the time in the world, but New York taught me that this is not true. You can choose to live fabulously every day, no matter what you're doing. It's in the way that you walk. It's in the way that you smile. It's in the fact that one day you just decide to wear an extravagantly large hat or a vibrantly bright scarf. Being fabulous is laughing out loud because you just want to. Being fabulous is walking lightly on the earth because your feet deserve to be treated with care. You can be fabulous when you give someone a hug. You can be fabulous wearing a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt as you stand with energy exuding, fabulous posture outside of a hip café. You can be fabulous because you choose to help a stranger one day or comfort a friend. You can be fabulous because today, you choose to treat yourself to a decadent slice of chocolate cake (or two!).

It doesn't matter how you are fabulous, but it is highly necessary to be fabulous. After my travels through New York, I have come to understand that many more people in the world could be so much happier if they would just choose to start each day being fabulous. You should always exude the feeling of, "I don't care, because I'm just too fabulous right now." Be fabulous to yourself and be fabulous to each other. It is an important state of mind, no matter what environment you are in.

I am now sitting in my aunt's house in Napa, California, preparing to head back home to Arcata for a few days and then back up to Eugene. No, I am no longer in the incredible city of New York anymore, but it's ok, it doesn't matter - because I'm fabulous.