Minneapolis Flavor: September

Minneapolis is a cool place guys. I've met a lot of new friends, discovered fun shops and pockets in the city, and am adjusting to this new rhythm of life after leaving New York City. Here are some photos I've gathered with short descriptions.

Sipping on coffee

A backyard bash in Powederhorn park and open mic night with a group of friends from church. Music, music, music! 

Fall

Enjoying my brother's football game and my cousin's soccer game. Fall sports are the best. Matt and Ariana are both seniors in high school and are stellar athletes!

Studying at Urban Bean coffee house.

Nannying these kids. 

Pictures: iphone only. 

City Year: What I Learned

I graduated from City Year two months ago, but I still haven't taken too much time to reflect on it. Approximately 99% of the people I talk to have no idea what City Year is.  Most people know what Americorps is, which gets us somewhere when I explain City Year, but confusion is still present in most of my conversations, which is understandable.

"City what?" (I feel like I always have to yell the name.)

"Why do you wear that jacket? Why do you wear a uniform?"

"oh, like Teach for America? My friend did TFA."

"I thought you do Americorps after you graduate college?"

"Do you teach?"

"WHAT IS THAT?"

Those are the kind of comments I hear all the time. I'm not going to specifically answer those in this post, but if you would like to know what City Year is, check out their website here or go to my sidebar and click the label City Year. You'll find lots of past posts from over the course of this year.

Coming into this year-

I'm a fan of challenges and hard work, but I also like to see fruit at the end, but there honestly wasn't a ton of that, or at least the kind of "fruit" I expected. Pretty much all the views I had at the beginning of the year about education were shifted because of this experience. I saw first-hand how poisonous public education can be and I realized how complicated it is to bring change and reform. For the record, it's very complicated to bring reform. I definitely didn't realize that coming into it.  

Teamwork is hard work

Going into this year, I thought the team aspect of City Year would be the easiest... nope. I mean I've played on sports teams, I've gone on many team mission trips, I felt like I knew what to expect being on a team. City Year BOASTS about the fact they create the most diverse teams possible, and that's what they did. Yes, for a good portion of the day I worked exclusively with my 6th grade class and I didn't have to directly work with my team, but we ran an after school program together and that required us to be a well-oiled machine. A tight-knit one, too. Communication needed to be excellent, energy-levels needed to be high, and flexibility wasn't an option. More times than not those components were missing, and after school was a struggle. We still pushed through, but there were many disagreements, misunderstandings, and minor problems that would arise during the after school space. There's no doubt that I enjoyed my team. We were friends and we hung out together outside of work. However, just because you're friends with people, doesn't mean you work well with someone. I think we all know this. This year I learned it. And yet, if we didn't have problems as a team I would probably be concerned that the work we were doing was too easy. Conflict, to a degree, is natural and should be worked through. 

Below is a picture of my City Year team at the beginning of they year and then at the end of the year. If it looks like there are fewer people in the second picture, there is. There was a lot of "refining" that happened. 

Students aren't predictable!

I wasn't quite sure how to phrase this. I was thinking about saying, students will mess with your emotions, or students can make you laugh, cry, and smack the table all at the same time. Students aren't predictable definitely sums up what I'm trying to get across.

1. Staying Occupied: When kids are in class they need you to be at your best and have a bunch of exciting things planned for them to enjoy class time. I thought the same would be true in the outside space, but it's NOT. Kids want you to leave them alone when they're outside. They stay busy and they stay happy. They might not be doing the most productive thing, but they know how to entertain themselves. When after school started, we had a bunch of games planned because I was worried riots would start, but I guess they didn't need that. This is just one surprising thing I realized about kids' work habits. 

2. Fighting, arguing, and swearing are normal: It felt like those behaviors ran in their blood. Oh, this was the worst for me. Whenever there was class work time, there was bickering. Lunch time was hell.  It just felt like no matter what happened, students would have problems with one another. When do kids grow out of this?!? What's so hard about communicating in a civil manner?! 

The day to day stuff is still good stuff:

Working in the classroom can get tiring because of the everyday tasks that you have to do everyday: tutor, collect papers, check homework, etc. Yet, those are necessary things and kids and teachers still need that stuff for a successful classroom. Thus it's still good and makes a difference, even though it might sometimes be boring. 

I heart this. 

A career in teaching might not be for me

In high school I wrote many times in my journal that I plan to be a teacher. I was set on it, and it seemed like a career I would enjoy. I wanted to do City Year as a way to gain some classroom experience, beef up my resume, and hopefully absorb a few teaching skills. While I did gain some of those things I realized that teaching is much harder than I thought it would be and working with older students doesn't totally jive with my personality type. At the end of the year my boss told me she envisions me being an excellent kindergarten teacher in the future. At the surface this is a nice compliment, but if you look at it on a deeper level, it also means that I struggled working with the middle school crowd. And I did, but we all did. I know I had successful moments and I know I had challenging moments. 

OR ( a completely different thought on my future career)

A career in teaching might not be for me (yet)

I really want to experience diverse, challenging, exciting, etc. things in my lifetime. Going to college and then going straight into a teaching career seems so restricting to me.  I don't want to be forced to do the standard path that most people do, which is: go to college, get a job just because that's what you should do. With that said, I can tell people that I want to be a teacher when I "grow up," but I don't really want to be a teacher right away. I want to travel, work in the ministry field, try other ventures... there's so much out there to try. I'm not committed to really any long-term career plan at this point in my life. But hey, this could change as fast as my plan to do City Year came about. I'm just thankful that I don't feel the pressure to have life "figured" out. Life should be more of a journey. 

I am so thankful God allowed me to do City Year. It was the perfect thing for me.   

The hardest part {transitions}

I've been back in Minnesota for a week and a half now and the transition has been relatively smooth. However, I'm currently feeling pretty sick. I'm assuming it's allergies or a sinus infection. I can still function as normal, I just have a sick voice, slightly inflamed eyes, and searing pain when I try to do push-ups (which I drop down and do all the time! kidding).

Back to being "back." The thing that has been throwing me off is the emptiness, quiet, and lack of activity. I hear crickets instead of car horns at night. I can walk around and not pass ANYONE. I don't even live in the suburbs. I live in South Minneapolis, minutes away from downtown. Now this isn't devastating by any means, but it's a bit of a shock to my system and I don't love it.  

Powderhorn park at Midday:

Do you see people? I sure don't.

 Central Park at Midday:

People. Lots of them.

Maybe I'll start to appreciate the quiet. My college campus has a lot of people, which has been good, but the day-to-day quietness of Minneapolis (compared to NYC) is weird. 

I guess I no longer have to put up with long lines for simple things like french fries, crowded subway stations at all hours, Timesquare, and NYC tour buses. 

Ohh, but all those things make NYC so special! I miss it.

One more comparison:

Minneapolis vs. (Wham!) New York City.... they don't even compare.

But! I'm here in Minneapolis and I'm going to choose to find joy in it. I'm supposed to be here and there are many good things about it. And so far, I've enjoyed many things including: the state fair, gardens, and Minneapolis sunsets.

Here's to a great semester!

(just like that, I'm jolly again. Blogging can boost my attitude)

Taking a look at my goals {2014}

The year is well over a half over and I wanted to evaluate how I was doing on the goals, or should I say... aspirations I set for myself.

Let's see what we have:

Run a half marathon. 
This one just doesn't look like it will happen. Now, I could sign up for a half-marathon and just hope that I train and prepare for it, but that would be futile. Over the summer I ran a bit with a friend who was training for a real marathon. I ran six miles with her and that's it. I could technically say I met this goal by 45%.
Learn more about coding. Building websites is fascinating.
I'm starting a class with Thinkful very soon, so I'll be able to check this one off if everything goes as planned.
Tour the east coast! I have only seen New York so far. The states are so close, I should really be able to see more. 
I went to Connecticut and Boston. I wouldn't say that's a "tour," but it was something. I also went on an East Coast roadtrip to Florida.
Help all my students pass the 6th grade. This would be amazing, yet the chances are low. 
Guys, this happened! With the exception of one student, this happened!
Visit 5 museums in New York. 
Yes.
Balance social media use. I probably use Facebook and Instagram too much, but I don't use Twitter and City really wants us to be Twitter users, I just don't have the time. I would like to balance the 3 out.
This was a dumb goal.
It was too vague and I'm not sure what I was going for. Yes, I now sometimes use Twitter. Bravo. I love Instagram, and that probably won't change.
ABP (Always be purging) I like having a clean and clutter-free apartment and I want to keep it that way in 2014. This requires throwing things out and donating things before they get too comfortable in our place.
yep. Moving three times in a year makes this easy.
Write more letters and send more postcards. Mail is the best! 
I've done okay at this. I haven't done amazing, but definitely okay.
Read the bible every morning. I'm not consistent enough.
I wish I could say yes.
Focus on photography. Maybe this will be the year that I purchase my own DSLR camera. Otherwise, I'll still work on photography with other cameras or my iPhone. 
The iPhone is just soo easy.
Travel abroad. London and India are on my mind. 
Now is not the time for this. The future. Another dumb  unrealistic goal.
Do something in the for-profit field. I have always done non-profit work and babysitting. I want to mix it up a little. Even if it's for a few months in the summer. 
I can't escape babysitting and nannying for the life of me.
Shop local. I want to know where my money is going, and who it's supporting. 
Yes, yes! I've also become good at shopping online from sellers I like and trust. I'm not a big shopper, but I buy with purpose as much as possible.
Eat at a restaurant in my neighborhood (in East Harlem).
Yes, Camaradas El Barrio on 1st Ave between 116th and 117th (those numbers mean nothing to you).

Keep in mind this was just a "check in." I'll do a better and more comprehensive evaluation at the end of the year. I'm glad I looked at this list now though. I kind of wish I set better goals. Some of these are interesting, but some of them are just silly... in a stupid way. 

This year in New York

I’m currently in the process of leaving New York City. I’m sitting in a Chicago airport* remembering this great year that just closed out. I wanted to share a few specific things I learned and experienced here. This year was my first year on my own, and boy was it memorable! Most of these things I experienced are unique to living in New York City and probably wouldn’t happen in the same capacity had I stayed in my hometown.  New York stretched me in different ways and it allowed me to look at things differently than I did in high school.

This list isn’t necessarily deep. It’s just one of those lists that lets me look at the practical and tangible things I experienced while living in New York City. I'll have a lifetime of reflections from this year, but this is a good (but small) start.

Living Simply. I’ve never been a pack rat, but I’ve always had a large room all to myself and I had no problem filling it. I was looking forward to moving away for the sake of downsizing. I went from having a huge room with a queen-sized bed and large sofa to a room split between 3 other people and a little corner to hold my stuff. I guess most college kids have to do this, but it was definitely a welcomed change for me. Fun fact:  I hardly ever wore jewelry while living in New York. I wasn’t allowed to wear jewelry at my job, and I forgot to bring my jewelry to the city, so I went with out. I might have occasionally had access to a necklace or a pair of earrings, but 97% of the time I had no jewelry on.

My Space

Maintaining long-distance friendships is easier than I thought. I was concerned that I would lose my friends from high school and church. I was worried that people would forget about me and my life would just move on. Understandably, I lost touch with certain people, but the people who matter were still part of my life during the year. Packages and mail were so fun, and I loved the face time, phone calls, and text messages. The fear of losing touch with people should not hold me back if I’m called to do something or go somewhere. It shouldn’t hold you back either.

It’s okay to “treat” myself. I was a bit of a workaholic and saveaholic in high school. I spent most weekends working and studying. My weeknights were always busy with school and church activities, and I tried to get as many babysitting jobs and other random work on the weekends. I rarely did things for myself. It’s been so good for me to go out and do fun things with friends and not feel guilty about purchasing a meal at restaurant or buying that ticket for a broadway show. It was always a big deal for me to spend money or buy things for myself when I was in high school, so I’m thankful that I’ve learned how to not hold onto money so tightly.

Fun Stuff: Phillip Phillips, Cafe Grumpy, and Macaroon Tower

Learned to get around without a car. I guess I was forced to learn this one, but it was really fun learning the subway and bus system. All the colors, letters, and numbers can be daunting at first but it’s cool when you catch on. Walking is also enjoyable. You always hear that you need good walking shoes when you live in a city, and I kind of brushed that fact aside when I moved here. “I should be fine with knock-off Toms and flip-flops. nope.” These past few months I lived in a pair of Birkenstocks and keds tennis shoes. I learned my lesson from when I moved here. Take care of those feet!

Biking is another popular option ;)

Learned to initiate and make friends. Similar to treating myself, it was really good for me to make friends and do fun outings. When I first moved here I thought it would be impossible to make friends because I wouldn’t have much in common with other people and we would all be too busy.  Not the case at all. I made a lot of friends here and even a few close friends. I went on bike rides, to concerts, broadway shows, fun shopping spots, museums, yoga classes, runs, dinners, comedy shows, and pretty much every other fun NY activity I could think of. I even threw a birthday party for myself this year…at my apartment! The friend part was really fun. I’m so glad I put a lot of effort in being social.

Learned to love coffee. New Yorkers are known for not sleeping. I didn’t really sleep, and I worked long days. I hardly touched coffee in high school, now I touch it. A lot

A LARGE cup of coffee

Apartment and roommate life. It was tricky at first, but I eventually figured it out.  Over the year, I lived with five different roommates. One of my roommates stuck with me the whole year, and and the other four moved in over the course of the year. I didn’t love all the roommate transition, but I made it work, and it was fun to meet the girls who moved in. They were each so unique. The second half of the year was very enjoyable for me. So I would say my first year living with roommates was a success.




A glimpse of my roommate life. I love that she says this was "unforgettable experience."

Fashion is fun. I’m not a fashionista, and I’ve never been anti-fashion, but living in New York helped me pay even more attention to fashion and helped me a develop a personal style. I learned to pay attention to fabric and found enjoyment in learning about trending styles and designers. It helped that I had a handful of friends at Parsons and FIT. One thing to note is that I will always be a thrifter. 

Thanks for reading. I heart New York.

*It took me a while to press "publish."

The City I Love

NYC, you're my fave. 

These are various pictures taken at different times and in different places. There is no theme between one picture to the next, only that they were taken in NYC. New York is really just a big jumble of craziness and beauty. It's so full and hectic. Pockets of stillness are rare, but usually lovely. 

 

1) Near Port Authority Bus Terminal

2) Times Square

3) Greenpoint, Brooklyn

4) Cafe Lalo

5) View from the Empire State Building

6) Greenpoint Apartments

Life through Instagram

I wanted to give you little snippets of my life lately. Instagram is a great tool to assist in this.

Fun selfies!

1) Jeff Koons at the Whitney Museum. 2) In the garden at my favorite Brooklyn Coffee Shop, Milk and Roses. 

4th of July Weekend!

1) Van Leewen Ice cream shop 2) KrispyKreme donut. Yum. 

My fourth was fun. I went to a couple fourth of July parties and saw half of the fireworks from a rooftop. By half of the fireworks, I mean the top half of the actual fireworks ;)

I started a full-time nanny job! I love it so much. 

1) skate park 2) juggling in Bryant Park

Games

1) pick-up sticks 2) photography practice with Charlotte

1) tye-dye shirts 2) Japanese bento dish. I enjoy cooking meals with the two girls

Follow me: @abbyanfin

Note-

So I changed the name of this blog. Becoming was getting too vague for me. So I just changed it. Welcome to In the City.

The change will hopefully make it easier for me to write on this space and not feel a pressure to always write things deep or life-changing...although I wasn't doing much of that before. Anyways, the URL is still the same (Becoming95), we'll see if it stays that way.

Shops I Like: Photojojo

Have you heard of Photojojo? It's a quirky photography shop for the everyday photographer (like me, and probably you!) I think they are pretty rad. I love browsing through their site and reading all their product descriptions-- it's all so witty. I wanted to showcase some of my favorite items from their shop! I'll let the pictures do the talking. I'm going to hopefully try out a product or two this summer!

Color Flash Filters  $15 - For some fun colors

                                                             Macro lens band $15 - For stellar details

iPhone Bolt Charger  $60 - For on the go

Instax Printer $220 - For fun prints!

iPhone Super Suit $79 - Everyone needs a super suit

Phoneography Starter Kit $30 - For the Basics

Oh, they have so much! And if I had an extra $9639.84 to kill I would buy one of everything they sell! 

On a related note, I'm doing a moments in June photography challenge on Instagram. Today I posted a picture of a trash can for day 8, so that's pretty exciting. yeah. 

All images belong to Photojojo

Model Status

New York City Parks are filled with huge rocks and I think they're the greatest thing ever. I love them so much I wanted to pose with them. Doing so I discovered that I might have a future in modeling. 

Hands on the knee is always a classic.

Rocking that head tilt.

Mixing it up and posing with a bridge

Pop that knee!

Preparing for childbirth maybe?

 Alright... modeling isn't for me.

Check her out! My friend Liz could definitely be a model. 

And I'm pretty sure this girl is an ACTUAL model. There's models everywhere in NYC. Yes, we're still in Central Park, and yes that is a waterfall. A filthy waterfall for that much. 

Sidebar: My entire outfit was thrifted
Another Sidebar: I love the way these bloggers model fun outfits-
Color Me Nana
SaidKelley
Writes Like a Girl
Casey Leigh
Check them out!

Feel free to share your link in the comments if you put fun outfits together! I would love to see what you got.

You're here

Image from Naptime Diaries

June, you're finally here. I was dreaming about you in March. You seemed so far away, but now you've arrived. Summer is starting. School is almost ending. Change is happening. And that just makes me happy. Today was a beautiful day in the city and a true Sabbath day for me-- Especially after a long day of work yesterday.

What does the month of June look like for me?

• June is my last month in East Harlem. In July I'm off to the Upper West Side for the remainder of the Summer (more on this later?)
• June is the month of my birthday.
• June is graduation month from City Year. June 20th is my last day!
• I'll have special visitors this month. Aunt B and Auryanna, I can't wait!
• I'm hoping this blog might pick up the pace a little more this month as well. In May I focused on friendships and work. I also went on a week long vacation, so the month just whizzed by.
• Sugar fast: I hate it to say it, but I quit that. I made it almost a month, but then I went to Florida and I couldn't keep it up. I successfully made it through a 6 week sugar fast in 2013, but not this time. It was hard and I'm glad I kept it up for the time I did. 

What are you looking forward to this June?