It was 1999 at a Greek bar in Astoria Queens. Right at the corner near a gas station, close to the B.Q.E. (Brooklyn Queens Expressway) where most nights they played popular Greek music but on Sunday nights, it was rock night. Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Rolling Stones filled the speakers and the bar was dark. I remember sitting on the raised bleacher seats and sipping my drink, smoking cigarettes and talking to my friends. One of the owners of the club liked me. He was funny and didn’t act like a typical Astoria Greek guy. Rock night was his idea and he was there every Sunday night. He is the one who gave me my motto that I’ve been sharing for the last 3 decades.
Inch by inch, life is a cinch. Yard by yard, life is too hard.
Back then, I was still in college trying to figure out what I was going to do with my one precious life. When I first went to college, I thought I was going to study accounting and I did for a few semesters but once we entered Business Law, I didn’t have an ounce of care for the field. After accounting, I went the opposite direction and studied Eastern Religions and Mythology. Growing up in a Greek neighborhood with a Cypriot father and a German/Central Asian mother, I went to a private Greek school, St. Demetrios. We spent half the day learning in English, the other half learning Greek history, language and culture. I loved mythology. Its storytelling at it’s best to explain why life is the way it is. The religion classes were eye opening as this was my first taste of Buddhism and Hinduism. Very different than my Greek Orthodox upbringing. But I ended up changing majors again. I didn’t want to stay in the past and repeat the same lessons that have the same outcomes.
Back to the drawing board. Where do I go? Where do I belong? Where am I needed?
Inch by inch, life is a cinch. Yard by yard, life is too hard.
I took a look at my passions and hobbies. I loved writing, always had a notebook and pen with me. Always contemplating life. Always creating stories in my mind and heart. I enjoyed human interaction and psychology but not enough to study therapy. I loved music but I couldn’t play the guitar, yet. I went to Hunter College in Manhattan and they are well known for their Media Department. I started taking classes in television sitcoms, advertising and design, magazine writing! I found a hallway in a huge school that housed the future. How to create websites, how to animate graphics, writing with purpose and studying the sitcoms from the 60s and 70s and how they shaped, disrupted, aggravated peoples’ mindsets.
The Media department was a great place to explore my creativity and voice. I met my future husband there. He was an assistant in my website design class and I would find any reason to get extra help in his office after class. After college, I worked in public relations, brand management, advertising, media, sales and branded integrations. My major in college was put to great use.
And who would have thought that those semesters in Accounting would help me so much as now I am running my own business. Or the semesters studying Eastern religions would open my mind to Vedanta, Yoga philosophy!
Inch by inch, life is a cinch. Yard by yard, life is too hard. Rang true then, rings true now. Keep going. Take your steps and watch your path unfold.
I think we are all looking for a place, community where we can connect, open our mind and heart, share our gifts with the world. That’s why Sunday rock night was my favorite place to be. I was among other souls who enjoyed the energy, music and company.
Community is important. We are part of humanity, a whole. It’s where we listen to messages, get inspired, and find our way. Inch by inch. I'm glad you are here.
Comments