Sketchblog Chris Chien: New York 8/22

Sunday, September 2, 2012

New York 8/22 - 8/29

Recently made a 1-week trip to new york. Video contains little vignettes of my trip to accompany my sketches below. I was going to include some cool hip-hop background music, but wanted the original sounds of NYC to left undisturbed. I had a free airline ticket and stayed at my friend's place in Manhattan for a week (thank you James). Didn't have much of a plan, except to explore the city and feel what's it's like to be a new yorker. It was a thrill to be in the city and explore so many new places. I feel a lot of gratitude to my friends and feel blessed to have such a wonderful experience.

I feel like I learned a lot about myself. Here are some resolutions I made after this trip.

1) take more ownership of your life: seeing my friends live by themselves in their own apartment inspired me to take more responsibility for how I see. I currently say "I live with my parents." Why not say "My parents live with me," and take responsibility for the cleanliness and upkeep of the entire house; clean and cook and make sure the fridge is well stocked. It's giving the power back to yourself.

2) spend more time outside and in real life: I didn't have a computer/ smart phone for a week. But I was much happier living life and spending actual time with friends.

3) do things that interest you: it's not all about work and productivity. There's more to life than that.

4) be flexible - I didn't have a schedule or task list when i was in new york. I just went with my gut and did things on the fly. I hung out with friends when they were free and drew when I was by myself. It felt good.

5) explore more: i was looking at a map everyday. by the end of the week, i was giving other tourists directions. i want to have the same geographical savvy in california. Get maps and a GPS.