How I Made NYC Feel Like Home

A year and a half at NYU Abu Dhabi have allowed me to feel like both the city and the campus have become my home. One key element of that process was a coffee shop. I had always been my most productive self while working amidst the hustle and bustle of a café. 

…that having a coffee shop was part of my routine. I needed a similar routine while constantly having to change addresses. My routine was basically going to the gym, strolling around or visiting certain cultural sites, and, as you might have guessed, finding the one place for all my needs – conversation, relaxation, and work.

A lesson I learned from being in New York is that routines have to be adaptable enough so that we do not crumble under the pressure of the unfamiliar.

For me, that adaptability had to come from being flexible enough to move through cafés rather than have one particular one. I also had to learn to see the beauty in exploring various gems of caffeination across town. It was also a lesson to enjoy my own space a bit more. For me, it was a learning curve to start enjoying my own desk, far away from the noises of an espresso machine and people’s chatter. I found that comfort by getting myself flowers and setting them up on my table. Or, sometimes I’d go on a quick stroll for my daily cup of oat-milk latte, get it to-go, draw the blinds open, and play my favorite Spotify playlist. These practices were so simple yet so rewarding. 

Your routine might look different but at its core, the idea remains – the fear of change is just that, a fear. Once you identify ways to personalize any changes in your life, they will no longer seem so dreadful. 

However, the need for socialization was bound to kick and when it did, I learned not to be afraid to reach out to other students in my classes. In Abu Dhabi, everyone knows everyone. We do not have to make plans, we can just meet up on the Highline and decide to get dinner together. In New York, intentionality is key. Surely, the fear of rejection is valid but, more often than not, other people go through the same anxieties and fear as you.

It takes a while to get out of the mindset that everyone is either criticizing you or would not want to talk to you in a million years (especially in a city like New York, popularized for inspiring people into career-driven and egocentric individuals). When being on my own started feeling like loneliness, I would tell the voice in my head to “take a break” and send that text to the girl I talked to in my class, or that New York-based friend I have not spoken to in months. Guess what? It has always paid off. I encourage everyone embarking on a similar journey, to practice disregarding that little voice in their head.