SoHo Sunday

Today has been the first day that I have had to be completely independent and and make my own plans. I decided to go on a  RA thrift store shopping trip to SoHo with my friend Jackee.

The scary thrift store.

Today's trip involved a lot of walking but it was worth it. Today was full of pleasant surprises and fun. We left for the Subway at about 12:30 PM and arrived around 1:00 PM. The first thrift store that we visited was Search and Destroy. This store was kind of scary. The clothes that are being sold are definitely of the Punk Rock/Metal variety-not my style. I did not have any luck with this store. Instead I walked across the street to the Pinkberry and enjoyed a pomegranate frozen yogurt.

On the fast-paced walk to the next store we were interrupted by an interesting/pleasant surprise. We came upon the Gay Pride Parade on Fifth Avenue. This was definitely a new experience for me. Although I have always wanted to, I was never able to visit a Gay Pride Parade in San Francisco. There were a lot of people dressed in a lot of different and interesting ways. There was also a lot of music and I was able to see several interesting floats. I'm really happy for all of the people who can freely love who they wish. Love is love is love.

The Gay Pride Parade

After navigating our way away from the parade, we made our way to our final destination, Beacon's Closet. This place is much more my style. This thrift store is pretty amazing. It is full of a ton of beautiful designer clothing with great prices.  It has a much more feminine, hipster feel to it than Search and Destroy. I managed to find three cute tops.

All in all, I think today was a pretty successful outing. Even though it started to rain towards the end of the trip and the whole day was hot and sticky, I had fun. It seems like I am having a new adventure everyday. One of the adventures I plan to have is to go to a Broadway show. I cannot come to New York City and not go to a Broadway show. I just have to choose which one! There are several RA trips to see shows. I need to decide soon before there is no more space on the trips.

I like the feeling of independence; being able to go out on my own and having to rely on myself rather than anyone else. Given the independence that this program has given me, such as having to worry about what my daily meals and having to make plans for myself is a lot more work then I would have expected. My parents make it seem so effortless. I love the whole experience that the ILC and the Columbia summer program has presented to me. I now know what to expect in college and how to take care of myself. If I need something, I'll walk to the drug store and buy it. I, for the most part, get to decide where I will go and spend my free time. I am completely independent, which entails that I have to perfectly balance work and play. Although I have to do some more reading work a little harder on my time management skills, I think I have done a relatively good job at balancing my priorities.