I couldn't help but wonder...
In typing those words, I'm immediately channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw. And I'm at that time and place in my life when I need her. No, I don't need to rush out and see Sex and the City 2, although it is the most accessible (and affordable) nationwide fashion event this season-- just about any gal can strap on her stillettos, designer or no, and strut to the nearest multiplex (cocktails, optional). To tell the truth, I never paid much mind to the original series (probably because I never had HBO, and even if I did, I would never have been allowed to watch it!). But I can still appreciate Carrie's witticisms and sartorial fearlessness; she wears what few women (in the real world) would dare, and clearly articulates what we're all already thinking.
I need Carrie to help me find the inspiration and confidence to make big changes in my life and career. I have been working (sometimes steadily, sometimes not), as a freelance writer since college graduation. I've also worked retail, odd jobs, you name it. All I've really wanted, all this time, is to move to New York (my home state!) and basically do exactly what I've been doing here: work, live, eat, pay bills, shop, struggle, sleep. I long to wander the Big Apple, gleaning stories, creating characters, simply doing the whole (admittedly cliche) writer-girl-in-the-big-city thing. Clearly I am not the most ambitious person ever, or I would have been doing all of this yesterday. Perhaps I would have spent the past few years in grad school, honing my writing skills, ready to tackle the job market anew. I don't mean to whine, as I am grateful for my current desk job, which helps me pay those student loans bills and credit card debt. But I'm not kidding myself-- I want something more.
Watching Sarah Jessica Parker's iconic character flounce around in vintage Dior could make any girl crave the big city fashionista lifestyle, true. And while Carrie's taught me plenty about being a fashion risk-taker, she's taught me even more about being a writer.
Some of the best writing advice I've ever received from a college professor was this: "Keep your butt in the chair." That was her admonition to me at graduation, and Carrie, with her desk at the window and Mac at the ready, exemplifies this. She turns her romantic turmoil into crafty columns, and we all love to hear the tales. Carrie, though fictional, is my archetype of the post-modern working writer. And she's working because, hey, go figure, she writes.
Obviously, if I want to "make it" here, there, or anywhere, I have to do the same.
Blonde, brunette, black Mac, white Mac, doesn't matter... We're soulmates. 
