what does it mean to be authentic?

ashley
12 min readSep 5, 2024
a lone cloud over an urban skyline at sunset | aug 2024

It’s been one year and three months since I graduated college and entered what they call the “real world”. For me, that journey has looked like a move to New York City, a year of working a corporate 9–5, and stumbling through the playbook of how to adult.

Despite there being a million things to do and eat and stare at, my brain space has largely been preoccupied with casual social experimentation and a developing thesis on human connection.

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I’ve always been intrigued by people and their interiorities, but moving to the big apple and taking in this new environment has made me question everything I knew about friendship, love, and who we really are when we’re stripped of the exterior shells. In a city where the symbols, status, and aesthetics rule all, how do we develop genuine connection?

As I’ve been grappling with establishing new roots and routines, I’ve also been actively experimenting with different social environments, topics of conversation, and ways of getting to know people deeply. I’ve learned a lot this past year, and I’m tired of waiting until I have fully cohesive conclusions to share — so this is essay # 1 on my early 20s social experimentation thesis.

observing authenticity

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ashley

23-year-old NYC SWE | Writing about the life lessons I'm learning along the way.