Nathaniel Habegger, Class of 2009, Manhattan, New York

What are you up to? I currently work as a Creative Coordinator for a marketing firm in downtown Manhattan. I manage social media and in-house photography. I also help with ideation of events/marketing plans and I contract talent. In addition to my full-time job, I run my own menswear blog and manage social media channels daily. On top of it all, I shoot photos professionally for clients and for my own blog.

How'd you get here? Well, before moving to New York, I wanted to be an actor. I acted in all of the high school shows, loved music, and was incredibly passionate about that career path. Six terrible auditions and college rejection letters later, I realized that acting was too much rejection for me to handle. At this point in my life, I had put all of my eggs in one basket and assured myself that being on Broadway was the ultimate goal. Also, at this point in my life, I had taken advantage of a teacher-student relationship to change my grades in the school computer system. This act of tom-foolery lead me into an emotional downward spiral (as I was almost expelled months before graduating high school.. terrifying). I fell from the pedestal I had put myself on and didn't know who I was anymore or what I was going to do. I felt like a delinquent and that I would never recover from this mistake. So after graduating in 2009, I took the summer to figure out what I wanted to do. I always loved fashion and I loved art. I went to Western Connecticut State University for a year to gain credits before transferring to a private school in Manhattan called The Laboratory Institute of Merchandising. I wish someone had told me that none of my credits from Western would transfer to LIM, but that’s ok. What’s another loan to pay off right? 

I moved to New York and thought I was the best. Come to find out, everyone in New York is the best and I was the worst of the best (or maybe a little better than the worst, but still.. small fish big pond situation). I worked for Coach as a Visual Merchandiser for about 4 years. A Visual Merchandiser is a term used in the fashion/retail industry for someone who creates window displays. I left that job to start working as a Creative Coordinator, which is what I do now. In the process of all of this, I started my own menswear blog and made insane connections with people all over the city through Instagram.

What are your goals? I want to write a book, open a restaurant, take beautiful photographs, open a ceramics studio and start a fashion company. It’d be really cool if I could do all of that, but we’ll see.

What has been your biggest challenge? Self acceptance. I think the hardest part of this journey (which by the way is still JUST starting) has been accepting myself for who I am and not who I think people want me to be. After high school, I left the comfort of home, family, and friends. I had such a strong sense of self and was incredibly confident. Moving to New York really knocked me down a few pegs. It made me see life on a much larger scale. Figuring out who you are is an ever going project that seems endless, and it kind of is. Figuring out how to love the part of yourself that has flaws and that part of yourself that you don’t like is the biggest challenge. It’s the most rewarding when you overcome all of that; when you can sit with yourself and appreciate who you are through and through. By the way - I’m still working on that…it ain’t easy kids.

What has been your happiest moment? There are a couple happy moments I've had recently. One being the day I started my current job. Another would be being featured in a digital campaign for Uniqlo. Both really made me feel like I had made it even though I’m still fighting to make it!

Advice for WHS Students? Start to look outside yourself. Start to be curious about what else is out there in the world. Watertown is an amazing town to grow up in, but I think it’s incredibly beneficial to look beyond the horizon to see what other opportunities are out there. How can you appreciate something if you never lose it? Another tidbit of advice: If your dreams don’t come true immediately, that doesn’t mean they never will. Some dreams don’t come true (like me being on Broadway because I’m not a knock out actor, but was passionate about it!) but your dreams can morph. Allow yourself to accept the ebb and flow that is life. You won’t win them all, but if you do something that makes you feel fulfilled, you’ll be happy. You can reinvent yourself everyday, and should. ALSO: You’ll realize how lovely being in high school is the second you step into the real world.. so enjoy it while it lasts.

If you could tell your high school self one thing, what would it be? I would tell my high school self to shut up and sit down. I was so cocky in high school. I thought no one could touch me and that I was the best. Turns out, I was really lazy and kind of a jerk. Don’t get me wrong, I think most people who knew me would agree I was a good kid, but I was definitely not interested in working hard in class. I’d also tell my high school self that I can do anything I put my mind to and then to actually put my mind to it instead of sitting waiting for life to happen.