recently i had a discussion with a friend of mine about cockiness. she was afraid of dating someone who was known for being cocky (both her and i seem to be attracted to that quality in a person). thinking about this topic brought up an interesting question: what is the difference between being cocky and being brave? living in nyc people have to be brave. we all moved here alone (or mostly alone). we are all trying to make it in our field, which often comes with a lot of competition. we are faced with the ugliness of the world daily: homeless begging us for our change, and such. we are one of millions, literally. we will never be the prettiest. the smartest. the most accomplished. and we wake up every morning in the light of these facts. in our small apartments, sometimes to cold showers while the spanish speaking neighbors yell in the hallways. to walk out unto the concrete streets filled with poo (seriously there is so much poop on the streets). to make it through these conditions we have to be able to hold our own head up. we have to be able to pat ourselves on our backs. cause no one else is. we have to speak up for ourselves. we do not have anyone fighting for our cause. it is us. keeping our own sanity. telling ourselves we are loved. saying its going to be ok. call it cocky (and maybe it is) but it is also bravery. staying happy. staying proud. staying true. in this city sadness comes easy. bravery is another thing.