"If you're from Southern California,
BECAUSE I CAN!
Since moving to the city, I've come across a surplus of people who ask, in all seriousness, why the heck would I ever leave San Diego and move to New York. To me this is ignorance. I don't mean to be blunt. Just kidding- that's a lie- I do. I don't believe that life is meant to be spent in one place. To encounter only one part of the world is like reading only one page of the best book there ever was. (*cough Harry Potter cough*) Especially as young adults, we're meant to go out and see the world, figure out who we are.
The opportunity to move to New York for the summer came out of nowhere. After experiencing my first bout of heartache (ache not break) and graduating college, there was no better time for me to up and move my life. I quit both my jobs (yes, I had two jobs while going to school full-time...self pat on the back), moved out of my studio, sold my car, and narrowed my life down to what fits in two suitcases and a backpack. With no strings attached, and no reason to settle, I bought a one shot ticket to New York City..well, not exactly. I stopped in Portland first.
Fortunately, here in NY, I was able to take over a friends room on the Upper West Side (thanks Eva :)! ) and her job at the cafe/bookstore McNally Jackson. I weaseled my way in within a matter of two days. Like all great love affairs, my relationship with New York has had it's ups and downs. Some days I've absolutely loved it and some days I've hated it. Actually, the love and the hate kind of comes sporadically, some minutes it's love, until I pass the block reeking of garbage, then it's hate.
Our Relationship:
Reasons I LOVE:1. Skyline from Brooklyn...I basically gasped the first time I saw it. Jaw to the floor. It is absolutely breathtaking; pictures do not do it justice.
2. Central Park...The days and hours I've spent here are countless. Walks, bikes rides, phone calls, coffee time, rest & relaxation. It is my absolute favorite place to walk in the city.
3. Seamless...ashamedly. For all of you non-New York folk, Seamless is a mobile food delivery app. I can't believe this actually made my list, but the fact that you can get practically any kind of food delivered at any time of day. That's just magic. Don't judge the fact that I've had sushi for breakfast...multiple times.
4. Walking & Subway...Really, just the fact that you can walk anywhere here is extremely awesome. Today, for instance, I walked up Broadway from Soho to Columbus Circle, passing almost every noteworthy "tourist" spot there is to see. 59 blocks of pure New York Bliss.
The Subway might surprise you, but really, I kind of like it. I'm not missing my car one bit! I'm baffled by it's construction. An Underground Railroad intricately connecting you from one place to the next. How, just how? We're just a bunch of little moles running around below. It's great.
Reasons I HATE:
1. Money Money Money...It practically costs money just to step out your door. There are so many nice, free things to do in the city, but SO many of them cost money, and a lot of it.
2. Street Cat-Callers...Not to scare anyone, especially Grandma, but I hate walking down the street sometimes. (Wait, I just said I love walking, see how it's such an affair?)
"Hey gorgeous, I'm off in ten minutes, you wanna come back and meet me?"
"You have a nice day...Lord have mercy look at those legs, girl you want a massage?"
"Are you girls models?"
STOP. JUST STOP. That is not the way to speak to me. Who raised you to speak that way? Oh, and I'm not a dog. Whistling does not make me come.
3.You're 1 in 8.337 million people, and then some...It's really easy to feel a little bit lost, hidden, and lonely. With so many people around all the time, you can start to feel a bit insignificant. You spend your day walking by or sitting with people on the Subway, but you don't know any of them, and none of them know you. They have their headphones in and so do you. Eye contact is scarce, a smile even more so.
4. You don't know whether to love or to hate it....Does this even make sense? It does to me. I hate it, because half the time, I don't know whether it's love or hate. The things I love I also hate, and the things I hate I also love. Example? Bagels and Pizza. I LOVE Bagels and Pizza, they're everywhere. But, I also hate that they're everywhere. Bagels and Pizza make you fat. I hate fat. How's that for a puzzle?
NYC, we have a perfectly healthy love/hate relationship...
...but now, I want to break up.
"Summer flings" are just that, a fling--a superficial temporary relationship.fun & flighty, on the surface, but effective. At the end of a fling, you might be happy and sad, it might have effected you in a deep way, but you know that all it ever was supposed to be is temporary. There comes a point in time when you know the fling is over. As summer winds down, I'm feeling a change in the air, and a change in me. With this new season, like the trees, I'm losing my leaves. I'm changed, & I know it's time to go.
I head for upstate New York on September 1st, where I will stay with family for a couple weeks. I will have so much downtime, be prepared for my "flashback" posts. After that, I'll be back in the city for a quick kiss goodbye, then on September 21st I'll be boarding a plane for my next big affair..Spain!
Curious to hear more about my NYC adventures? Let me know! Need some advice on things to do and plaecs to go? Ask! The city is a magical place filled with a surplus of activities. I think everyone, at some point in life, needs to have a relationship with the Big Apple, even if for only a one-night stand.
Stay tuned!
Naturally yours,
N
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