Day One

The program is officially starting today and I am so ecstatic to get the ball rolling!  The plan for today is to go to the optional movie called Bombshell, go to the subway to get a metro card for the week, go to the 9/11 museum with the full group and go to dinner with a few alumni.

I am very excited for this trip for many reasons like the ambience and the city vibes, but I am most excited to meet the full group for the trip. I have some friends I knew beforehand during the initial meetings and I want to have a chance to meet everyone in person. This year’s NYC trip has also made me feel more confident now more than ever with my work ethic, my voice as a writer, and my presence as a fashionista.   

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I did a trip last year in New York with the fashion program, but I was facing some challenges of my own during that time.  It was my first marketing class as a sophomore and I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I had to work my butt off to do the work right and do some extra research along the way. I also was a little more on the quiet side initially because I didn’t know what to expect from the trip and I was afraid.  I wasn’t afraid of the city if that’s what you’re thinking because I am a born and raised city girl at heart. But I was afraid I wasn’t going to be good enough. I was constantly comparing myself to others because most of my classmates had some knowledge of the business world and have had prior experience with business trips beforehand whereas I was a lost lamb in the middle of a  deserted cornfield. Even though that experience was tough, it was also memorable. It made me grow into my potential as a young woman and made me realize that you’re only in competition with yourself.

AVON Cosmetics Pitch Day

Photo By: N/A

With that snippet of knowledge along with life long friends and memories from the 2019 fashion trip, it made me dedicated to become more of a risk taker in every aspect of my life.  I’ve learned to embrace the challenges and adversity from my personal and academic life because it will guide you into the person you want to be.

So I’m going to hit pause with the inspirational mumbo jumbo for now, but I’m ready to talk about “Bombshell”….all I can say is ‘wow’……to be honest I was taken aback. I really wasn’t fully aware of those issues for women in the workforce until I witnessed it. I was taken completely by surprise from how women were treated during 2016…..yep you heard me right 2016.  I wish I can put numbers in caps because that whole story made me angry. Not just (h)angry when you don’t have food for a while, but A-N-G-R-Y. It made me feel horrible and disgusted by how those women were disrespected.  It also made me scared because my dream career is to be a news anchor and fashion journalist.

After I took some time to process what I watched, I learned that it’s important to know your worth and to speak up when there’s a major issue that harms your wellbeing as well as others. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to see this movie because it gave me the awareness on the topic.

After all of us saw the movie, we met up with the rest of the group to grab our metro cards, get on the subway and go to the 9/11 museum. When we got there, I’ve forgotten how peaceful the area was.  I’ve visited the 9/11 memorial in the past, but I definitely learned more information about the event. First we started off watching a video from the 9/11 event and then we headed over to the exhibits. There were voice overs and clips from the actual event along with saved items and artifacts from 9/11 scattered throughout the museum. Some of the stories people had were hard to hear about because for me I’m a compassionate person and I never want to hear people in pain so it just broke my heart knowing the loss and trauma people went through during that time. What made me feel at peace the most was knowing that they dedicated a place for that time in history and that they honored the people who went through it.

Metro Card Stop! 

Photo by: Lucy Greaney

Once we were done touring the 9/11 museum, we went to dinner at this really cool Mexican restaurant called Dinner at Hell’s Kitchen.  They literally had one of the best salsa’s I’ve ever tried and it was nice to sit down with everyone to relax. I got a chance to talk to a couple alumni and talk to more new people in our group.

Tomorrow, the plan is to go to the View, ABC News, CNN, and the Daily Show with Trevor Noah.  I’m especially excited for the View tomorrow since my mom, sister, and I watch that show often when we were together. Stay tuned!