long distance isn’t for me

I miss New York so much it hurts. Of course, I miss my family and my friends, but nothing is quite as gut-wrenchingly heart breaking as being so far from the place I now call home. Taking the leap to go to school in NYC is by far the best thing I have ever done for myself. I left my high school graduating class of 176 students, my small town of 18,000, and relocated to a city I fell in love with when i was six years old.

New York is a place unlike any other. Now that I’ve been to many of the European cities I’ve dreamed of since childhood, I can say this educatedly. Amsterdam is wonderful, and spending a semester has been one of the best experiences of my life. In the last four months I’ve been to London, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, and Marrakech, and was absolutely floored by each of these cities. But there is truly no place like NYC.

When I talk to people about New York, all I can say is that it’s a grown up playground. The nightlife is better, the views are better, and the food is better. Everything you desire is at your fingertips 24/7, 365. There isn’t anywhere else in the world you can get a slice of pizza at 4:00 am for $1. Or see Macklemore at the same club as you. You can have curry for lunch and gnocchi for dinner, on the same block. I guarantee you will eat the best bagel of your life at Bagelsmith in Brooklyn.

I am in love with NYC because of the person it has made me become. I’ve learned not to take crap from anyone, the right way to haggle for $10 Ray-Bans on Canal Street, how to navigate a crowd, and how to present myself. I wear black everyday, avoid Times Square at all costs, and can recite my Starbucks order in under seven seconds. People often find New York overwhelming, dirty, and smelly. To me, New York is the place where you can become anyone and anything you want, and nobody’s gonna give a shit. What a goddamn beautiful city.

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