Oh Hey

Oh hey!  So, I'm new to NYC, and I'm doing this whole "artist" thing full time.  I'm definitely happy about it, but the hardest thing is the lifestyle change.  I wasn't making a ton of money before -- I was a public school teacher; however, the checks came consistently.  But I realized that I wanted to act and sing and all of that full time.  So I moved to New York.  Luckily, I still have some income coming in over the summer (thank you teacher salary), so I'm living off that for now.  But I can't say that I wasn't a little stressed when I first got here about eventually making some money on the side.  I came in strong: auditioning, looking for an apartment, signing up for classes, networking, and trying to find side jobs.  Dang, trying to find side jobs.  See, things are different for me now.  I did the whole work-a-regular-job-and-do-your-art-on-the-side lifestyle.  I'm not down with that anymore.  Everything I do needs to be supplementary to my art.  That (well, besides God and family) comes first.  So, I landed a job in which I'll be going into schools doing shows for kids on issues like HIV/AIDS, drug/substance abuse, violence, etc.  I'm crazy excited about it, but it doesn't start until August.  So, I'm stressing about getting some other side hustle because I don't want to keep living off of my teacher paycheck.  I need to establish this new standard of living.  Plus the aforementioned gig won't pay all of my bills anyway.  This is New York City.

So, yeah, I was stressed out.  But one of my good friends was playing at a jazz club the other night.  I had to go see it.  This guy is one of the sickest saxophone players I've ever met or heard.  So, I'm hanging there seeing him do his thing, and after the first set, we go outside to catch up.  I tell him about how I'm stressing about getting a side job, and he immediately stops me:

"Lumumba," he says, "If you're going to live in New York City and be an artist, you got to get used to the idea that you may be broke.  That you might not know where your next paycheck is coming from or how you might get your next meal.  I'm not saying this will befall you, but you can't spend all your time worrying about that."  

Simple, but true.  NYC is a grind, art is a hustle, but this is the path I've chosen.  I can't tell you how excited I am.  This was just a little introduction to who I am and what I'll be doing in NYC.  I'm sure there will be lots of stories in the future as I embark upon this journey.  Tag along with me if you like a little adventure.

If you're not doing what you're passionate about, then what's the point?