Tease and hustle. There is nothing like the thrill that comes from living in New York. It's our collective vibe, the mutual understanding of what it takes to be a New Yorker. It's not easy here, but we don't want anything else.

I slept on an air mattress in a closet-sized room for my first apartment. I came here with two suitcases and $800 dollars in my bank account. I've never thought of myself as brave, but I guess that day I was.

Still fighting the fringes of a mental illness when I first arrived only added to the level of difficulty. But with a couple new friends, and big love, I was able to heal. Anorexia wanted to isolate me and kill me, New York wanted to love me.

So I love her back every day, as I walk the streets and ride the subways. She gave me health, my first sense of self, but she also keeps me wild.

x x