a Pair of Louboutins, a DKNY interview, NYC & a Love Story

In honor of Valentine's Day; I'm going to share a story. Like most people's love stories they tend to be more exhilarating to the person sharing than those listening but on this day of romance it seems only fitting to throw one more story of love out into the world. For my story, let's rewind to the beginning, before I worked in PR, before I moved to New York, before I tried out Media Planning and before I lived abroad..let's rewind all the way to a small college town in Indiana, to a small college apartment and to a pair of Louboutins..

I had a phone interview with Donna Karan's PR department for a summer internship one morning; the interview was the result of a far-fetched application I didn't think I'd hear from again. A few months later I heard from Donna Karan's HR department; to say I was surprised is an understatement since most people had connections, most people had references and I didn't even have a toe in the door.


Even though it was a phone interview and PJ's could have made the cut; I dressed as though the entire Donna Karan PR department was sitting in my college apartment, legs crossed and waiting to judge their next applicant--of course with such high (imaginary) standards, the only fitting thing to wear was a pair of black, patent leather, Louboutin pumps. To explain why a college student, whose financial options usually came down to nights out vs. groceries, had a pair of Louboutins is simple--my mother, an avid Louboutin lover, shares the same shoe size as me and graciously gave up a pair of shoes to her daughter one night. That morning I wore my Louboutins and strolled around my apartment as I took the phone interview; whether it was my resume, my phone interview or the shoes--a few weeks later the internship was mine. I think it was the shoes.


Over the next few months I pooled together all my finances in an effort to prepare myself for living in New York and afford intern housing; despite my best efforts and working two jobs I realized that my biggest financial asset was on my feet. I reasoned that one day I would be able to afford such luxuries as Louboutins but as a college student barely able to afford gas, it was silly to be wearing a month's worth of New York rent on my feet. I kissed my Louboutins goodbye in exchange for enough money to make it to New York and soon enough I was standing in front of the Columbia dorms (sans Louboutins) and ready to start my internship.


I met him one evening while seeing a mutual friend in SoHo for dinner. He was in New York, visiting from Paris and interning till December while living (unknowingly) just blocks away from me. We chatted the night away over wine and shortly after him and I had our first date lined up. Our summer was a whirlwind of dates: afternoons over mojitos at a local Cuban restaurant to watch the World Cup, adventures spent exploring New York, concerts in Central Park and movie nights at home--our relationship was effortless but circumstances were not as the ever looming deadline of my return to college and his eventual flight back to Paris loomed over us. 

We savored summer without a care in the world, refusing to acknowledge obstacles ahead and choosing instead to soak up the summer as best we could. When August ended so did our denial and finally we had to confront the fork in the road we had been avoiding all summer--to call it a summer fling or to try long distance? We chose the latter.


September to December we used every penny we had to plan visits to each other and break up the time apart as best we could;  in between we had the luxury of Skype and technology. Although the distance between New York and Indiana could be feasible, the distance between Indiana and Paris was not. He came both at an opportune and inopportune time in my life; coming to New York had blown the lid off my life and made me realize that I wanted to explore more than just New York, I wanted to travel the world and it was at this time, when I knew I would fly abroad after my December graduation, that we met. 


So began to form the most difficult, obstacle ridden and opposed plan of my life--my trip to Europe. As far as we were concerned everything fit perfectly--I wanted to go abroad and he happened to live abroad; I had dreamed of seeing Paris and he lived in Paris; we wanted to stay together and in Europe we could be. Despite the logical rationale that we saw in it, family did not and their concerns about money, the fledgling relationship and my post-grad plans confronted us at every turn. 


Despite it all, December came and I had a one-way ticket to Paris booked. With partial support from my family and an unwavering intuition in what I should do; I flew abroad to live in France. 


Together we lived in a charming apartment in Normandy, with windows that filled the apartment with sunlight and poured in noises from the bustling French streets outside. I spend the weeks exploring Normandy and the weekends roaming the streets of Paris, with trips to Barcelona and  the French countryside in between.

After my time in France, I moved to New York eventually landed a job and..well, the rest is history. He moved to New York shortly after, landing a job and visa, and together we made a home and built our perfect, cozy corner in the city. 


To me, the story is epic--a summer romance, a trudge uphill against opposition, long distance love letters, a trip to France and a journey to New York--but as always the greatest love stories ever told tend to be our own.


Happy Valentine's Day :)