One word can accurately describe my life at the moment: MESS. I’m a mess at work, I’m a mess in my love life, my home is a mess and Lord knows how many other messes I’ve gotten into on a daily basis that I haven’t even noticed. At least I’m honest about it. It’s like the old saying goes: “When it rains, it pours”, well in my life “when it rains, it hurricanes”. But there is a silver lining to my tedious tale and here it is….I just don’t give a sh*t anymore. Simple huh? Well this is the thing; deep down I really do care, but as a New Yorker, I’m not going to let you know that.

See, that’s the beautiful thing about living in the Big Apple, regardless of how crappy or stressful or even amazing your life is, everyone is too busy to really notice. It’s like getting a “Get-out-of-jail-free-card” everyday. As a native New Yorker, I was born with thick skin (how else do you explain being a lifelong Knicks fans without slitting my wrists?) I walk fast, I talk fast, I think fast and at any given time I’m multi-tasking 8 different things at once. May sound crazy, but it’s the only sane way to live in these parts. If you’re not paving your own path, you’re probably getting left behind in someone else’s.

Just how upside-down is my life you ask? Just this week alone I’ve fought a guy who tried to steal my cab on 5th Avenue, argued with the lady behind the counter a Dunkin Donuts for messing up my breakfast order and listened to my boss compare a paper clip to Hitler in our office. And all this was JUST before 9:30am on Monday morning! Not to mention if one more tourist stops in front of me to take a picture of a tree in the middle of Times Square, not even the Christmas Spirit will save them. My week gradually declined from there. Working at a Law Firm and dealing with tons of clients on a daily basis only adds up to the insurmountable amount of stress.

But there’s hope for me after all. After 3 rum & cokes I’ve finally found clarity. The solution to all of my wreckage is simple: I’ll keep my eye on the prize, my vision in focus, put that thick New York skin on and if all else fails, I’m sure that I’ll find comfort in one of the 20,000+ bars my city has to offer. If there’s anything that my wacky life has taught me lately is that everything passes and things only get better; you just have to give it some time. For that I’m grateful. Besides, what do I really have to fear? I’m a New Yorker, I’m built to last.

– Orisel