![\"\"](\"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/nycskyline.jpg\")
<\/p>\nNot even three months into \u00a0living in New York, I faced an impending storm so scary they called it “Frankenstorm.” Luckily, I live in an area that was only\u00a0minimally\u00a0affected. However, I work in lower Manhattan and as a result of power outages and the transportation system not running, I have not been able to get to work for a few days. \u00a0Instead, I braved the storm alone in my apartment, settled in\u00a0comfortably\u00a0on my couch, worked from home, and felt really grateful that I was able to keep myself company. Especially when I didn’t have a choice. However, with ample silence (whenever Netflix wasn’t playing) and a break in my routine, I noticed a few things:<\/p>\n
1. I was overwhelmed and grateful that I heard from so many people from home that were concerned from my safety. It was a nice chance to catch up and talk to people during the day on a less hectic schedule. Whether or not I faced\u00a0imminent\u00a0danger ( I knew my area was going to be fine), the weather was unpredictable and I just felt better being in touch with loved ones.<\/p>\n
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2. It feels like I have lived here a lot longer than I actually have been. I was caught off guard by the genuine care and concern I felt over “my” city. Usually it’s something I would only read about on the news, but instead I am in the midst (or outskirts) of it. It was strange and saddening to not hear the whistling sounds of the train from my bedroom window and to see a darkened skyline because of the power outages. I realized that this place was already starting to become my new home. It was\u00a0bittersweet, but in a sense, a defining moment for me.<\/p>\n
3. It’s important to know your neighbors. I had a few moments of anxiety when I realized I was without a flashlight and was alone in my apartment should something happen. I shot out an email to my neighbors (I suppose the old-fashioned way is to knock on their doors) giving them a heads up and many were kind enough to offer supplies and a place to hang out if I needed. I immediately felt more comfortable knowing that I had caring people around me. On that note, I was able to walk around my neighborhood and explore the area– I found a lot of places I had missed before and and felt even more proud of and connected to Bushwick.<\/p>\n
4. I had sporadic and intense feelings of homesickness. More than anything I wished my sisters and friends were piled in my living room and keeping company in the special and joyous way that comes out of having an unexpected day “off.”<\/p>\n
5. I was ever more conscious of the stream of thoughts that ran through my mind. I am an extroverted person and tend to re-charge my energy through interaction, but also enjoy the quiet to refocus myself and de-stress. \u00a0At the risk of sounding strange– I found that my thoughts felt more like a running narration or dialogue. \u00a0I realized part of why I didn’t feel terribly alone (apart from online communication), was that when I said I kept myself company, I meant it. It feels much like writing or reading, when you become absorbed in a task and time stands still.<\/p>\n
I thought hard about the post on Your Present Voice<\/a>\u00a0and about the different selves we have within. I couldn’t agree more with Laura that they don’t necessarily have to be in competition, but that they may each look a bit differently in various environments.\u00a0\u00a0It’s important to pay attention to the one that becomes “dominant” when you’re alone. It can teach you a lot!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not even three months into \u00a0living in New York, I faced an impending storm so scary they called it “Frankenstorm.” Luckily, I live in an area that was only\u00a0minimally\u00a0affected. However, I work in lower Manhattan and as a result of power outages and the transportation system not running, I have not been able to get to work for a few Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":2402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[101,46,130],"coauthors":[18],"class_list":["post-2382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miscellaneous","tag-life","tag-self","tag-thoughts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/nycskyline1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2382"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2387,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2382\/revisions\/2387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2382"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/collectiveinquiry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=2382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}