New York City 2006—2011

I won’t lie, New York City was intimidating. It felt very surreal from the moment I touched down. The sheer enormity of the buildings, the noise from the traffic, the constant honking of car horns and the incessant sirens all gave me heart palpitations. It was night-time and the whole city was lit up — it is constantly lit up, but at night it really comes to life and you can see the mist in the sky because of the lights.

I had flown there by myself and booked into a hotel. I had no idea how to use the subway, get food for myself or even confidently order a coffee which all sounds ridiculous now. The experience was terrifying. I had never been completely on my own and never thought of myself as unconfident but NYC brought that all out in spades.