Showing posts with label new york city

Things to Do in New York

in , , , , , , , , , by RoyallyPink, 7:30 AM
I have lived in New York my entire life. Queens is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Manhattan and honestly, I have not taken advantage of it as much as I should have.

I have always adored Manhattan and the awe behind it's eyes. I am fascinated that people from all over the world come to Manhattan to visit and see what I see every single day. Whenever I drive into the city and see the skyline, I am awestruck.

How lucky I am to live in the greatest city in the world (hey, that's what people call it, don't they?)

The fact that I go into Manhattan every day has really had me thinking lately... why don't I do "touristy" stuff, ever? I've never been to the Statue of Liberty, or the top of the Empire State Building. Ok, so maybe that's a little too touristy but there are so many things that I want to do in NYC that I never, ever get around to doing.

Most are based around food, or shopping, but hey, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

Credit

Visit Central Park: I'm 99% sure I have never been inside Central Park. As a New Yorker, I'm sure that is not acceptable.


Credit

Laudree: I love macaroons more than life and I need to eat one from the original French Bakery on Madison Ave. I've seen so many photos of it and it's the cutest little bakery-- I need to get my booty there.

Have lunch at the Plaza: I see a bunch of people always doing this and it looks like the cutest, most quaint outing on a nice afternoon. Please, someone come with me.

Credit

Viral Food Places: Black Tap's Milkshakes, Dominique Ansel's cronut... some of the best food that has gone viral over the Internet is in NYC and I haven't had of them. I need to get my hands on some.



9/11 Memorial: I've talked about my experience with 9/11 and this year, for the first time, I went to see the Freedom Tower and the two waterfalls that honor those who died during the attacks. It was really emotional and beautiful at the same time, but I really want to go into the museum and explore the history that I lived through.

Brooklyn Bridge: I'm terrified of bridges but I so want to take a nice, sunny afternoon walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It's so beautiful and to see the skyline that up close and personal is probably amazing.

There are a lot of other activities I want to do, places I want to eat, and places to visit in my backyard of Manhattan but I think this is a good start!

 What are your favorite things to do in your city?




VIEW the POST
0 comments

Always Remember, Never Forget

in , , , , by RoyallyPink, 8:30 AM


Every year, on this day, I am completely somber. I am constantly reminded how lucky and blessed I am to be alive and to have everything I do.

As a New Yorker, through and through, my heart breaks every single 9/11. It was a tragedy that I will never forget.

I remember like it was yesterday; I was in my fourth grade classroom, surrounded by my friends, learning in our early morning math class. My school was next to a parkway, one that lead directly in Manhattan. 

We saw and heard all the sirens rushing to the scene and we were completely confused as to what was going on. Then, the principal came over the loud speaker and kids started to be called out of class. Me, along with my two best friends were the second kids to be called out.

My mom was waiting in the principal's office, looking a nervous wreck. I could tell something was wrong. I asked what happened and she said nothing, she'd tell me later.

We drove home and my mom's cousin was sitting on my front steps, sobbing. Her friend was in the twin towers (she was fine) and she didn't know what to do. I was taken to my friend's house after my mom explained to me what had happened. I watched on television the towers collapse, I remember watching someone throw themselves out the window, falling to their death; it was so much more to me. I lived here, I lived in New York. It was astounding how I felt in that moment.

I remember being mesmerized by the towers, always. To see them burning like that, to see them collapse, it was something I never thought would happen. 

My dad worked at the New York Stock Exchange, blocks away from WTC. I was so incredibly nervous, as was my mother, as to where he was. 

My dad walked home over the Brooklyn Bridge, along with all other New Yorkers, completely distraught. He didn't get home till 8pm that night; my neighbors were outside waiting for him. Covered in soot and debris, in his sweaty business suit, my father threw himself on the front lawn and cried.

I remember this day so vividly, so clearly and I don't think I'll ever forget.

It was something that was so close to home for me and it completely changed our city, it changed our country, it changed out world; it changed me forever.

It's true what they say, New Yorkers are some of the strongest people you will ever meet. We got through that, 12 years ago, we could get through anything.

Take the time today to remember those who died, who risked their lives, and who lost loved ones. I know a lot of people who lost someone in 9/11 and to just commemorate their memories means the world to them.

I'll be taking my time going through today and remembering where I was 12 years ago today. I'll look up at the sky tonight and see those blue lights that shine bright where the towers once stood.


VIEW the POST
0 comments

HC Her Conference Part 1

in , , , , , , , , , , by RoyallyPink, 7:30 AM
If you follow me on Twitter and Instagram, you probably followed my journey to the Her Campus Intercollegiate Conference or better titled, #HerConference, which was the hash-tag the attendees used all weekend.


I have to say I have been so excited for this conference ever since signing up for it and even though I was slightly nervous heading into Manhattan by myself on Saturday, I could not hide the happiness I felt.

I want to start off by saying this was something I have never done before; I had never done networking events, been to a journalism or blogging conference, and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. It was completely inspirational and put me in the right frame of mind before heading off to senior year.

After sitting through speakers and panels and hearing these successful people I feel more prepared than ever for the professional world. Just because I feel prepared does not mean that I am not scared because I think I might be more scared than ever.

There was a plethora of information and inspiring words of wisdom bestowed on us this weekend so I think I'll spread it out over a variety of posts. I got a lot of different ideas for blog posts during the conference so I won't overwhelm you with information.

This post will basically be a summary of the Saturday portion of the conference and then I'll do a separate one for Sunday. Then, I'll do other blog posts focused on lessons and tips I learned throughout the two days. There was a lot and I think it's important to share with you if you couldn't be there to hear it all.

Enough with the introduction, here's a break down of the day.

Saturday, July 27th

The entire conference was shaped for women by women. You could tell in the air, through the sponsors, it was so women friendly and it was wonderful. When you first walked in there was a BCBGeneration Sample Sale which had incredible prices and a beauty bar where I got my hair curled with Amika hair products (I scored some free samples and got to check out some other products that I've never heard of.



The conference was sponsored by Intel so scattered around the foyer area there were Intel Ultrabooks, laptops, and two in one tablets that we were allowed to play around with. I am an Apple lady but seeing the awesome features and variety of products that Intel had made me wish I could have one.

When I first got there, I registered with the lovely Her Campus women, got my free goodie bag (more on that later), got some breakfast, and chatted with some of the girls. I met some great ladies there and stuck with them the entire conference since I went solo on Saturday.


After about a half hour we went to the opening of the conference and the morning keynote. It was so wonderful meeting Windsor, Stephanie, and Annie, the co-founders of HerCampus and hearing them speak. They are gorgeous, intelligent, ambitious women and truly an inspiration.

Windsor, Co-Founder, President, and Publisher of HerCampus


They introduced the morning keynote speaker(s) Josie Natori and Jacqui Lividini ; Josie is the founder of Natouri Designs, a lingerie and fashion line. Lividini is the CEO and Founder of Lividini & Co, who revived the Lord and Taylor brand. The keynote focused mostly on Natori. She was a true inspiration and had such amazing advice to offer us young women who have dreams and aspirations. Like I said, I will go through my notes and give you more specific information on each speaker so this post doesn't go on forever.

Jacqui and Josie 


After the keynote, we were able to pick one of the four panels in the panel block. I chose to go to "Does the Devil Actually Wear Prada: Life as an Entry Level Editorial Assistant" which is ultimately my dream job. Listening to the intelligent, smart women on this panel was incredible and really helped me get a better insight into what I want to do.


Side note: all the people on these panels were from incredible publications such as Glamour, Women's Health, Self, Seventeen, and other great magazines! It truly was a journalism, magazine conference so I was in my element.

When the first panel was over, I networked a bit with the women and then headed to the second panel. The second panel was called How to Make Your Startup a Success. Levo was there!! WOO! That was exciting, listening to co-founder Amanda talk about Levo League. It was so inspiring listening to these women talk about their passion projects and what it takes to be successful.


Amanda Pouchot, Co-Founder of Levo League

We then were given lunch by Chiptole which sponsored the conference and goodness, it was delicious! After lunch, there was a lunch keynote who was Fran Hauser, the President of Digital at Time Warner. She was such an inspiration and really instilled some great lessons for careers.

The next block of panels were focused on building up your HerCampus chapter. I don't have one on my campus and don't necessarily have the time to start one but it was still interesting to see all the work that goes into it. 

Afterwards we heard another keynote, this time it was a representative, Nikki Nash, from Intel. Hearing her story from how she majored in Journalism and ended up at a tech company such as Intel was really wonderful. 

Annie Wang introducing Nikki

Nikki Nash

After she spoke, HerCampus gave one lucky girl an Intel Ultra-book (which I was SO jealous of) and then we watched a screening of "Girl Rising". There will definitely be a larger post on "Girl Rising" or maybe I'll write a SLM post on it!


Annie, Nikki, and the winner of the Ultra-book



All the cool door prizes were given away after the movie, which included scooters, books, bags, t-shirts, and other cool stuff!

I have to say, I was exhausted by the time it was ready to leave on Saturday but part of me didn't want it to end. That's why I was totally thrilled that I was headed back on Sunday. Sunday was just as amazing and I had one of my best friends from home with me, which lessen my anxiety. There will be another post on Sunday's portion of the conference.


VIEW the POST
0 comments

The Sandy Aftermath

in , , , , , by RoyallyPink, 12:37 PM
Hurricane Sandy is a bitch. I don't know how else to start this off but I am truly devastated over what this hurricane has done to the east coast/tri-state area.

My neighborhood and surrounding areas look like a warzone; the National Guard is stationed in my town and there isn't expected to be electricity for another week.

Homes are flooded and burned down to nothing, almost everyone lost their cars, including my mother. 

I came home last night from school because I just wanted to be with my mom and family; I couldn't bare to be at school, living normally while everyone I know and love was suffering.

When I saw what this hurricane did to my neighborhood, I bursted into tears. Everything I know and love is destroyed, there is nothing left. 


I never thought I would see devastation like this, never in my life did I think this was possible. No one should ever experience what my friends and family are experiencing right now.


There is one neighborhood, Breezy Point, Queens, whom got hit VERY badly. I know so many people who live there and there were 110 homes which burned to the ground. This is a very close knit community and this is such a diaster that happened to them.

There is a website up to donate money to rebuild Breezy Point so if you're reading and have a few extra bucks, donate it to helping everyone rebuild Breezy.

This is a horrific time in New York and it seems that there will never be relief but New Yorkers are strong. We are the people who rebuilt after 9/11, New Yorkers are resilient and we bounce back fast.

Hurricane Sandy will not destroy us, she will make us stronger.




VIEW the POST
0 comments
COPYRIGHT © Royally Pink · THEME BY WATDESIGNEXPRESS