10 Years in Boston



I moved to Boston 10 years ago as a wide-eyed, soon-to-be freshman at Boston University.

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I’ll be honest, I reluctantly came to Boston. I had never intended on being here. I arrived feeling jilted because I was rejected by my dream school. I foolishly and oh-so confidently submitted an early decision application to NYU’s Stern School of Business; every other school I applied to was “just for fun”. Therefore, I was utterly devastated when I received my rejection letter and had to quickly troubleshoot my plans. Without thinking too much about it, I signed my life away and accepted the next best option, Boston University.

Coming to Boston was easily one of the riskiest and most spontaneous decisions I’ve ever made. Prior to orientation, I had never been here and had no idea what to expect from the school, the city, and its inhabitants. But with my T-pass and new friends, it only took one semester (and discovering Newbury St!) to fall in love with Boston. NYU-who?!



A decade is a long time and a lot of life has happened. Through tragedies and victories, this city has always had my back. Every time I fall, it picks me right back up:

  • This city welcomed me with open arms even though I arrived as bitter as an orange pith

  • It’s provided me with knowledge, a fabulous education, mentors, and opportunities to eventually flourish in my career

  • Boston gave me a place to call “home” after the house I grew up in in New Jersey was tragically lost to a fire

  • The beauty and diversity of the city inspired me so much that I started THIS blog!

  • The city has served as a backdrop to my love stories and subsequently, a pillar of support for the heartbreaks that followed

  • It is here where I developed life-long friendships and a "family" when my own family was falling apart

  • This city showed me what strength and unity really meant after the marathon bombings

  • Boston and its world-class physicians nursed me back to health after I got sick with a chronic, incurable, and rare disease

  • With the resources and the supportive community here, it helped me to start a non-profit organization from literally nothing

At the expense of being ridiculed for personifying a geographic location, I’m openly admitting that Boston has been the most successful relationship I could ever ask for.  The city is not just beautiful, but smart, infused with history, tolerant, diverse, and safe – after all these years, I’m still in awe of it. Everything happens for a reason. I didn’t get accepted into NYU because I was meant to be here. I didn’t last more than 7 weeks in NYC when I tried to move there in 2011 because I was meant to be here.

Thank you Boston for being as wonderful as you are and for accepting me for who I am. I am forever grateful for everything you have provided me with.

The ONLY piece of the puzzle that’s missing for me here is my family but maybe I can convince them to move here ;)

Love,
Flower: The Converted Bostonian

PS: The artwork is by one of my favorite artists, Sean Boyce


Comments

  1. it takes courage and a lot of stamina to decide to shift and you seem to be doing well and not regretting the decision. you are amazing and do what you love. keep posting

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