This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to spend time with some very special people. They aren’t rich or famous, internationally known, or critically acclaimed. Who they are however are my friends, and I am so grateful for them. The time we spent, the moments we share, and the memories we create are priceless!
All week long I had waited for this moment. Battling a cold, school, job training, and life itself; Friday couldn’t have come any sooner. Upon arriving to the city, I immediately ran to the film store and picked up a pack of film so I could capture the magic that the next 48 hours would bring. Upon arriving to Webster Hall for the first stop on our list, I got a text from my friend Emily who I hadn’t seen since April. I told her I was in line and she said she would come to visit. We had an amazing time rehashing our last visit and making plans for our next adventure. I was so happy to see her that when I spotted her coming up the block I literally ran into her arms. A few hours later she comes back with our friend Briyonce, whom I also hadn’t seen in a while. Bri is so sweet and funny and makes sure everyone feels comfortable and included all the time. We talked about her Grammy award winning album and how nice it was for her to come see us on her day off. Then finally all the way from Maryland and Virginia, fresh off the struggle bus, came my babies Megen and Alex! Last time we were together was my birthday in May.
So when I saw Megen and Alex again I knew I was in for adventure. We ended up getting second row and watched our girl Elohim kill it. The second she was done we went to the merch table to wait and meet her, for we had no interest in the headliner let alone knowledge of who he was. There we talked about our days and how great the performance was. While waiting for Elohim we took pictures on the staircases and had some drinks. I was so happy. Elohim came down after the show and was so sweet to all of us. I took two Polaroids of her. Then we left the venue and hung outside for a bit with others before heading back to their hotel where I met their friend Mayan. Usually I’m apprehensive towards new people but Mayan was so sweet and even helped me find one of my favorite celebs free of charge! Amazing! We spent the night feasting on dollar pizza and talking about the day and how happy we were to see each other. Mayan left and shortly thereafter the lights were out.
The next morning Alex and I got up to exercise In the Hotels gym. I was nervous because I hadn’t worked out in months, but thank God the gym was empty. Alex and I sweated it out and watched Charlie’s Angels which played on the gym’s TV. It felt good to exercise again and have the support of a friend.
Afterwards we returned to the room to shower and get ready for the day. We hit up the street fair that was happening right outside the hotel! We tried so many foods, but our favorite were the Arepas. They were these delicious golden brown corn patties, stuffed with mozzarella cheese. The corn patty was crunchy and sweet and the gooey cheese just melted in your mouth, Iconic! Honestly, truly.
We then walked up to Forever 21 on 42nd street in Times Square. We tried on so many clothes and got a few things. We then walked back to the room and changed our outfits for the second half of the day. We decided to hit up Soho. We ran into Mayan again. We went to Topman/ Topshop and fell in love with all these amazing bomber jackets we knew we couldn’t have. We cried over the beautiful chokers and danced to the beat of the amazing live in house DJ. Home girl killed it as we hopped on the 1 train to Canal Street. We took some pictures and began our walk in the rain to our first stop Vfiles. Vfiles was closed. Then we went to Brandi Melville. I was freezing. I had forgotten to take my sweater this time, bad decision. Then we went to this flea market and saw some really nice clothing and jewelry. Alex found a fur jacket that was very similar to the iconic Joanne the Scammer’s. He looked amazing.
We then went to Georgetown cupcakes. I had never had a Georgetown cupcake and boy was I missing out! I had the pumpkin cheesecake cupcake and my life was changed. Then we proceeded to Urban Outfitters to try on and look at more clothes. I then remembered I wanted to see some more chokers, but the ones in Urban weren’t really my style and DASH (conveniently located next door) was closed but PetSmart wasn’t! I grabbed Mayan and took her with me. We asked the clerk where they kept the dog collars and went to town! Not only was there a great variety but they were a great fit.
Then we decided to meet our friend Evan at Webster Hall; I told everyone I knew how to get there which was not true. I lead us 7 blocks in the wrong direction. We hopped on the train and found our little nugget immediately upon arrival. I hadn’t seen Evan since 2015 so it was nice to see him again. We then left and returned to the hotel room. We had more dollar pizza and watched SNL. We realized we weren’t too far from where it was taping and after much deliberation, we decided to go and see who we could meet. We ended up seeing Leslie Jones and Michael Che. We then found out where the after party was and headed there. Once we got there we saw Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon a Time. I asked him for a picture to which he replied “No, Fuck Off.” Amazing! We had heard Wendy Williams was there and some other big name celebs so we waited a bit. At 3:30am we gave up and retired to the room.
This trip was amazing; for just a small window of time we got to escape from our everyday lives and live in the moment. No schedules, no deadlines, and no limitations. For two days I got to spend time and make memories with two of my favorite people in the world. Life is so short these days, so it’s important to love the ones you’re with. Tell them you love them, hug them a little harder, and smile a little longer because you never know when it will be the last time.
