Cosmo’s
There’s something magical about the metro ride back home after a night out. Giddy from laughter, dancing, and most likely one too many Cosmo’s, the city whips by in a blur. Conversations from strangers interject the songs stuck in my head, the soundtrack to my night, “Volare, oh-oh, cantare”.
My life in the past month has had a very Carrie Bradshaw-esque quality to it. Coffee-laden catch-ups, fashion exhibitions, flashy products, photoshoots; a student, indie-version of Sex in the City. My new job has a lot to do with this shift in lifestyle. I started my new internship a couple of weeks ago and while most nights I fall onto my couch, absolutely exhausted, there are other nights when heels clack across the city, girlfriends making their way to each other, a Cosmo bearing oasis amidst stress, boy drama and the tediousness of life.
It’s so easy to lose yourself in the monotony of life. Metro, boulot, dodo. I’m a recent addition to the zombie drone of the corporate workforce, walking from the metro to the office everyday with hundreds of other people in silence. The hours after work seem to be the only time that we can revert back to ourselves, alive-ourselves once again and inject our lives with well…us. Our goals, friends, inside jokes, aspirations, and traditions come alive after work; a release back to yourself.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. I was incredibly lucky to nab an awesome internship and land in a truly amazing team. There is no doubt that hard work here will put me in a great position in the future. I keep wondering though, if the dominating career woman that waits for me at the end of this path is the same woman who gets to write, travel, and explore?
I think about all of the places I want to visit. It seems like there isn’t enough PTO in the world to get there. When will I have time to spend a few months in Puerto Rico, ride an elephant in Thailand, see the desert in Namibia, try mate in Uruguay, or jump off a waterfall in Palaos? The immediate need, a job, truly overshadows the more long-term goal of my life. What that goal is has not exactly materialized itself super clearly yet, (annoying I know) but a looming sense of urgency to leave, to explore, to discover has not left my periphery. I keep trying to fit these two needs, ragged puzzle pieces, together to make up my life. I’m sure the full picture will come into focus soon.
Until I actually get PTO (thank God for a generous French system) and slowly chip away at my bucket list, I’ll enjoy the sound of heels clacking along the pavement. My heels take me to girls nights, to sushi dates, to my great job, and to new experiences. Enjoy your friends, take advantage of the present and by all means… stay giddy, grab another Cosmo.
Cosmo’s
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