I. THE REALITY OF DEPRESSION.

Thoughts behind idea: 

• I've struggled with mild-to-moderate depression for just under a year, juggling therapist visits, prescription medication, and just being an all-around trainwreck.
• This is a topic I've wanted to write about for ages, but I haven't been able to figure out how to do it without sounding like Eeyore. 
• I want to humanize the disease. Depression isn't about laying in the fetal position on your couch with the shades drawn. Depression is trying to awkwardly explain the plethora of prescription medication you keep in your purse to airport security. Depression is hiding in a bathroom stall at work to cry when a client tells you that the jello-wrestling radio script you wrote for his nightclub isn't sexy enough. Depression is everyone asking how you've lost so much weight recently and you muttering something about a diet when you ate a double cheeseburger at 10PM the night before, completely sober.
• I don't want to trivialize Depression and the effects it has on people's lives, but the perception of the disease isn't my reality and I want to express that

II. SOUTHERN GIRL VISITS MANHATTAN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS. 

Thoughts behind idea:

• I'm flying up to NYC for the second time in my life next weekend to visit my college roommate for the weekend. Before anyone thinks I'm rolling in Beverly Hillibillies style, I spent my summers going to Boston and Pittsburgh to visit my grandparents and spent another two summers in Europe. I AM CULTURED, I SWEAR. However, the majority of my life has been spent in a town in North Carolina whose population doesn't exceed 20,000 people. 
• The last time I went to NYC I was 13 years old. We were only there for 24 hours before we boarded a cruise ship to Canada because my family hates enjoyable vacation. I also spent 90% of that initial trip pouting in my hotel room because my mom wouldn't let me go to Abercrombie and Fitch in Times Square.
• I've downloaded Evernote and want to make observational notes of all the weird, different, interesting shit I encounter as well as my first time out enjoying NYC nightlife. I promise I will NOT talk about how much more expensive everything is there because if another person says that to me, I'm going to rip out my eardrums.

I welcome all feedback. Seriously. I grew up with a brother, I can handle it.