About the time I was 7, I was sure about a few things in life.

I knew firsthand I was put on this earth to be a star on the television show “Kids Incorporated.” Around the age of 11, these dreams were crushed with the realization that it might not happen.

On the bright side, at 21 years old I am living out my other childhood dream: living in New York City. I left for the island of Manhattan two weeks after finals to embark on a new experience - working as an intern at a national magazine.

As I got off the plane the first day, I suddenly felt incredibly clichéd. I was “that” girl - a Midwestern chick with stars in her eyes landing in this big city of fame, fortune and endless possibility.

Being in “The City” - what true New Yorkers call it as if there are no other cities in the world - certainly has a powerful effect.

My eyes were occupied in searching through the airport when I walked off the plane, certain I would see Gwyneth at the baggage check, share a cab with J. Lo or bump into Brad when I got out of my cab with the luggage.

But of course I didn’t see them.

What I did see was a huge city with big buildings, and a new territory to call my own for the following three months.

While I am not one to fear change, I found that my new surroundings couldn’t be any more different from the life Iwas used to.

Growing up outside of Detroit, there was never much to do. I mean, how many exciting activities can one suburb hold?

From a place that remains in my memory as a sea of coffee shops and mini-malls, I now stood in the midst of one of the largest cities in the world.

Once I depended on friends to fill the void that boredom brings. Even though the city we lived in was spread out and vast, you never had the chance to be lonely.

But in the Big Apple, home to millions of people, it is easy to feel lost as people shuffle by. I saw an opportunity to test myself. I was in a new city with all my friends at home and the desire to try to make something of myself.

I was alone.

All by myself to plan each day without the comfort of just meeting a friend for lunch at the mall. Free to do whatever I wanted to do, with no one to discourage me.

While this new feeling of independence surely can be intimidating, I welcome it like a breath of fresh air. Walking down Fifth Avenue, I held my head high and became - sorry, Beyoncé - an independent woman.

Well, maybe not so independent, seeing as my father was helping me pay for the summer, but strong in the sense that I was really getting to know myself.

Living in the Detroit area my entire life has made cities across the country seem much more exciting, and I definitely appreciate the allure and magic of New York.

I find myself walking past movie star trailers and film sets expecting someone to grab my hand and discover me. It hasn’t happened yet, but I have only been here a month.

What has happened is I have begun to discover myself. Being in a new city is almost like a clean slate. You’re free to make whatever marks you can.

So after a month of living in New York, my cell phone is no longer as vital as oxygen, as it was in the beginning. My phone symbolized a link to my roots at home - the comfort of friends, the ease of having support. And living by myself at first was a little lonely.

But now I have learned to become closer with one friend I have apparently neglected: myself.

And a month into my internship, and a month of welcoming my new self-relationship, I can already tell how I will come back to East Lansing in the fall, ready to finish my college career.

Ready for my spot on the impending revival of “Kids Incorporated.”

Rachel Wright can be found in the Big Apple rehearsing for her big break, or at wrightr9@msu.edu.