Thursday, September 29

Journal Day


To continue with Journal Day from Sometimes Sweet, here is the next post!

Looking at all of the life you've lived so far, can you pinpoint one time frame or instance that you feel truly contributed to your growth as a person?  This may be a turning point, a positive or negative experience, a moment or collection of moments that stand out in your mind...something that changed you as a whole.

This is an easy one.  I had been living in New York for about 2 years.  I had my fair share of ups and downs, weird encounters, and random occurances.  But hey, that's New York for you.  I was living in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, a primarily West Indian neighborhood near Prospect Park.  However, it was on the "other side of the tracks," if you get my drift.  I had a beautiful one-bedroom apartment.  It was very minimalist with white walls and all black furniture and accents.  I was so proud and realized that this is what I had been working toward.  I felt like this was my apartment, the one New York apartment I could stay in.

Fast forward about six months.  I got home at midnight on a Friday.  Was I out running about the town? Nope.  I was working. Until midnight.  On a Friday.  I came out of the elevator to my door being open.  I knew it instantly.  I had been robbed.  Everything was gone.  TV, computer, clothes, shoes, everything.  I broke down sobbing and quietly walked around to make sure no one was there.  I tried to call the police, but my phone had no service.  (Side note: Seriously in every emergency in my life, my phone has no service.  It's like it syncs to me and is equally panicked.)  I ran downstairs to my landlord and could barely stammer it out.  The police arrived 30 minutes later and took a report.

For the next month, I stayed with my loyal friend Kira.  She graciously hosted me and successfully distracted me from thinking about all of my losses.  Eventually I went back and stayed in the apartment.  I locked myself in my room and slept with a bread knife under my pillow every night.  Literally.  I never got any sleep.  I was lucky enough to break the lease without penalty and bolted out of there as fast as I could.  I never felt the same afterwards.

But don't fret!  There is a good ending to this story.  No, they didn't catch the thieves.  (Yes thieves, if I ever find you, I will personally punch your faces.)  No, I didn't get my posessions back.  However, I got my security back.  I felt safe again.  I realized that I just lost stuff.  I didn't lose my life, my health, or my family.  I only lost material posessions that meant nothing at the end of the day.  (Well, I take that back.  I did lose a necklace my mother got me for graduation and a ring my grandparents bought me.)  By being robbed and left utterly helpless and vunerable in one of the biggest (and scariest) cities in the world, I realized that I could make it.  The old "if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere" really resignated with me.  I felt strong again.  I broke free from the materialism and realized what was really important.  I will eternally be thankful to Kira for housing me and being the best friend a girl could ask for.  I will be thankful for my family that made me feel so much safer, even thousands of miles away.  I am thankful I was robbed because it changed my outlook and priorities and made me a stronger person.

5 comments:

  1. Gosh babe, I felt the horror as I was reading it, being robbed is one of the worst things that can happen to anyone.

    My heart goes out to you, and I am glad you are feeling better and stronger now. <3


    xoxo,
    Addie
    The Cat Hag
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  2. wow well done you for being so strong, it can't have been easy at the time, but you're right, they were just material posessions.

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  3. Whoa, girl! How unfortunate. Glad you can now see the positive impact it had on you, though. You're a tough cookie!

    www.chillairandperfume.blogspot.com

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  4. I can't imagine! I've only had my car broken into (not at my home) so I felt no loss of security but boy was I mad! And only over a few possessions, I can't even fathom how angry I'd be over loosing all my belongings and my sense of safety in my own home. You're such a trooper

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  5. One feels so very violated after being robbed. (My place of employment was robbed and I was the person that found it a mess after it was robbed. My vehicle was also broken into in my apartment's parking lot.) I'm glad you've overcome the trauma and feel safe again. I do too.

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