Taking on New York O’Tia Style

The plane arrived to The Big Apple on March 6, 2019 at 5:03 PM and in that moment I knew it was going to be four days to remember. When we exited the plane alarms started to go off in the airport like New York was waiting for our arrival and once we walked out of the airport we were greeted by large vans like the ones from those spy movies.

If you ask me it was kind of sketchy, but I went in because it was the only other way I would make it to the hotel.

“Made It!”

We were at the hotel, dropped our stuff off and immediately started to explore.

First stop, food.

After eating some New York style pizza we (Ian, Brendan, Kayla, Alyssa and I) decided to go to the Empire State building. By this time it was 8:49 PM so it was getting colder and colder, but we kept walking because why not.

“Made It!”

We were at the Empire State Building and that is all I can really say. It wasn’t crazy amazing maybe because one side was even colder than the other and our expectations were higher than expected. I think it’s better to go when it is warm because you would want to stay out on the roof longer. It was still a beautiful sight to see.

Second day starts on March 7, 2019 at 7:30 AM for the Wendy Williams Show. Ian walked with me because I knew I would end up lost or taken. I don’t know why I listened to Wendy and wore heels because a 22 minute walk in heels in New York is no joke. I took those bad boys off after 5 minutes into the walk and put them back on when there was a block left. The show was pretty good. Very crowded as we were pushed down a ramp while standing in heels. I almost fell several times, but the people causing my claustrophobia kept me straight.

The waiting room was more comfortable because we got chairs, some of us, and coffee. Weirdly enough, there were people walking around saying, “Ask Wendy!” and I’m like, where? It turns out it was a paper for us to write down personal questions about our problems and she or someone had to pick the best ones to be revealed on the show. I sat next to people from New Jersey, a mom, a daughter and a best friend. Don’t get me started on the elevator we took to get up to the actual show. I sat next to them again on the show by accident. We were put where they wanted us to be put. I didn’t even get to meet Wendy. I had to catch her in my selfie shot is what we were told. I like her DJs, they were pretty fun between breaks.

Later that day, after going to 2 sessions for the College Media Convention. We all had the chance to come back together as a group and meet a Coastal Carolina University Alumni. She showed us around Nickelodeon where she works and told us about what she does and talked about more projects to come, but of course we are sworn to secrecy. Either way, it was amazing and I thank her again for that.

Third day begins on March 8, 2019 at 8:00 AM for the Strahan and Sara show. I went to this one with a group of students from the convention. We all walked there with the mentor Rob Marino. It was amazing, we first was shown Good Morning America with Ginger Zee and then we were taken upstairs for the Strahan and Sara show. I sat in the second row so I was so close to Strahan. New Kids On The Block, Bellamy Young, and Ricky Whittle's were there so it was even better. During the breaks, Strahan and Sara were jamming out with us. When there was a chance Strahan would go around taking selfies with people and it was pretty cool. He even took my phone for a big group one which was awesome. I absolutely enjoyed myself and we got free watches on top of having fun. I would love to go again if I could.

Once all of that was over it was time for more sessions, I went to three that day. I actually enjoyed the sessions because they were informative and that is why it was a great idea to bring pen, pencil and paper. You could also find connections for graduate school while you waited. Did a lot of exploring with Kayla throughout the trip too. We were lost a couple of times, but we managed to figure it out and learned a lot about New York. Places we visited: Central Park, New York Times, Macy’s, Madison Square Garden, Bryant Park and more.

Our last day was March 9, 2019 leaving at 6:15 PM. Before that, there was last minute shopping and it was a good thing our hotel was right beside Time Square because there was Forever 21, H&M, Hershey’s, M&M and plenty of other little stores around.

I really did enjoy myself, first timer in New York was great even though I lost my gloves on the last day and came back with the flu it’s okay.