Lost

When I was in high school, I used to babysit for my voice teacher. I started this job back in high school when I couldn’t drive and so I distinctly remember the feeling when I was able to drive to my voice teacher’s house to babysit. I felt so grown up.

However, this same young lady that felt like a grown up became a hot mess whenever she got lost driving alone. I remember this one time I got lost like it was yesterday. I drove around aimlessly for 20 or so minutes in my car in neighboring towns. I was hysterical. I was crying, blubbering and convinced I’d never find my way home. This was before I had a smart phone for Google to come to my rescue.

I still cannot tell you why I was so hysterical, but it was bad. Over the years I’ve gotten better but as I’ve been working in NYC I’ve come to realize I’ve gotten a lot better. How do I know? I get lost in NYC going to a meeting or meeting up with a colleague or friend on a daily basis. I have yet to get hysterical. ::knocks on wood:: I had this epiphany while being lost in the city recently. Go figure.

I was wandering around the village unsure of how I got so lost, when I took a similar path back to the subway, but I figured I was just that good at getting lost. I was walking aimlessly because even looking at Google maps to figure out the direction I should go in is hopeless for me apparently…don’t judge me!

I stopped, asked someone that I thought looked like a local. Made it back to the semi correct location and then miraculously located the subway. Much of it may have been pure luck but throughout the adventure I came to realize that I had not lost my cool. I had taken it in stride thinking to myself that I’d grab a cab if I really had to or wander around enough till I found the subway. Not an ideal plan to wander but it was still a time of night in NYC were wandering on the streets was ok in my book.

Either way, I was not hysterical. I think I’ve gotten to this place because I’ve come to realize all the solutions I have to find my way back to where I need to be. I’m never truly lost. I can figure it out and I usually do on my own. Keeping that thought process live and well allows me to relax. Plus, now I do have that smartphone even if I am terrible at directions.

I’m sure there may still be moments where I’m hysterical when lost but I’m happy to say they are few and far between. Plus, in NYC I feel like every other person is lost sometimes. Folks ask me for directions sometimes and a lot of the times I know the answer. It’s pretty reassuring.

I will bet anyone that I’ll get lost in NYC in the coming weeks but hopefully I continue to stay cool as a cucumber.