Daydream a glimpse of future life?

Every time I have attempted to start writing this column for the past few hours, I have drifted away into a daydream, usually a memory or fantasy about New York City.

So, finally I have concluded that writing a worthwhile column is not going to happen. Instead, I am going to continue to daydream?only this time on paper.

Let me set the stage. This daydream is a fantasy about my future. It?s a dream of a typical day interning for the ?Today Show,? probably during or before my senior year of college. I know my life probably won?t look like this then?especially because I will not have any spare money to do most of these things?but that?s why it?s called a fantasy.

So, come along and dream with me.

My alarm clock jerks me out of a deep sleep before the sun has even begun to rise. I go through my daily morning routine in the small Manhattan apartment I share with one of my best friends.

On my way to Rockefeller Plaza, I grab a coffee at a local cafe and carefully sip it as I watch busy New Yorkers crowd the streets around me. The sun is just peeking above the horizon as I make my way to the NBC building across from the famous ice skating rink.

This is the part of the daydream that is slightly fuzzy. I?m not quite sure what my day as an NBC intern entails, but from some research I have a faint idea.

I spend the majority of the day making phone calls and giving studio tours. Sometimes I may have the opportunity to help with a portion of the morning news, either researching a story or tagging along on an interview.

I pay close attention to the current anchors, watching and learning from them. Through hard work and determination, I know that I can sit at that very desk someday. I spend my lunch break buying a fresh sandwich at a local deli or picking up some food at the nearby Duane Reade.

After I?m finished at the studio, I change into some comfy clothes to take a jog through Central Park. The park is quiet and relaxing, much different from the bustling streets of the city only blocks away.

My journey through the oasis gives me time to talk to God and clear my mind. The trees and lakes in the park give me a slight nostalgia for my home in Kansas, and I?m grateful for the peace and quiet.

Once I?m done in the park, I head back to my apartment to prepare for the evening?s activities. New York is full of things to do, but tonight I decide to take in a Broadway show with a couple of good friends. We stop at our favorite restaurant in Times Square and sit by a window looking out at the bright lights of the tourist-filled square.

After dinner, we walk through the crowd of people milling about and find our way to the theater for ?Les Miser?ables? (which, by the way, is returning to Broadway in 2014 because of the success of the recent movie). The cast performs every line perfectly. The music fills the theater and sends chills down my spine. The set and costumes are extravagant. I leave the building in a state of awe, as I often do after watching live theater.

My friends and I head back to our respective apartment buildings and make plans to meet again soon.

I finish my nightly routine, including a quick Skype chat with my family back home, before I climb in bed to get some rest for my next busy day in the city.

Since my trip to New York City last summer, I?ve had many daydreams like the one I just described, especially lately since I?ve been reading the Bailey Flanigan series by Karen Kingsbury, in which Bailey lives in New York for a while.

Even though I wouldn?t trade my childhood in a small town for anything, I am drawn to the big city. I know it?s not always going to be as glamorous as my daydreams and no matter how much I dream, God is the one who really knows and controls my future.

But thinking about the possibilities makes me all the more excited for where my career in journalism might take me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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