West Village Wanderings: Bell Sleeves and OatMeals

Large, dramatic bell sleeves of a ballerina-pink sweater tucked away under a heavy shearling biker jacket add refreshing texture and lighten up an otherwise all-black and safe New York winter outfit. Add in a quick bite at OatMeals in Greenwich Village right off the W4 station in Manhattan and throw in an inspirational backstory and the grimacing reflection of wading through knee-deep snow and sidewalk slush this same time last year, and there was my perfect albeit chilly Saturday afternoon.

OatMeals is a single-item specialty café focusing on literally just oatmeal, but it is amazing how such a simple concept can take off and successfully sustain itself. But perhaps the most inspirational part of the story is how the owner woke up one day and realized her investment banking job just was not fulfilling, so while still working full time, she attended courses at NYU’s SPS in Food Writing and Business Management as well as at The International  Culinary Center before quitting her Wall Street job in 2012 to take control of her dreams of opening up an oatmeal shop. Today, OatMeals sits as a small and cozy nook nestled on West 3rd Street and serves an extensive menu of sweet and savory oatmeal bowls as well as various oat-based pastries, making oatmeal simultaneously healthy and fun to eat. Such a story reminds us that life is too short to spend it all doing something we don’t passionately love at 100%. Explore and try new interests and skills – we need to push ourselves to do more of what we love and give ourselves up to uncertainty and risks, because that’s the only way we can find our true callings. We have possibilities ahead of us, and that is a true luxury that most overlook.