City life equates to hurried meals, starless nights, constant traffic, packed subway cars and buses, and sleep deprivation. With a busy schedule, one barely has time to eat let alone sit down and cook.  Eating out at restaurants and fast-food joints or speeding through the nearest Dunkin Donuts drive-thru has become prevalent events in today’s fast-paced society. As we quickly grab whatever food is in reach along with the essential cup of coffee, we hop onto overcrowded buses and trains.  We stand shoulder to shoulder to complete strangers. Personal space seems to no longer exist as we duck under arms wrapped tightly around polls and are squished by overweight individuals who find it absolutely necessary to squeeze themselves into that infinitesimal space on the bench. We adhere to these rituals because they become etched into our daily lives. No matter what time of day, whether it be at crack of dawn or sunset, there are always cars on the street. The city constantly buzzes from night owls and morning larks. When a long day at work or school finally comes to an end, light pollution never fails to obscure the beauty of stars and their natural lights. We tilt our heads back and expect to gaze upon stars only to be greatly disappointed by the artificial light that hinders us from witnessing such natural phenomenon.

All these characteristics define New York City as one of the most exciting cities in the entire world. Personally, my favorite aspect of this city is that it hosts the most eclectic and diverse population. To me my family is the paragon of a melting pot because we represent such a wide range of ethnicities and cultures. I grew up speaking Mandarin because my mother did and I didn’t even learned English until I began going to pre-school.  Although New York City has its flaws, it is also an amazing city because anyone can survive and even thrive without even knowing English. Just like this city, my family has also changed over time. There are people that are no longer in the picture and I clearly have grown since the picture was taken. However, some things still stay the same and I credit a lot of who I am today to the city.  Growing up in the city meant taking public transportation to school since kindergarten. It means that I went to after-school because my mother couldn’t pick me up until 6:30.  It means moving more times than I can count. It means that I’ve been able to take care of myself since I was little.

My situation was nothing out of the ordinary because many of my childhood friends, while I lived in Flushing, were also left on their own. We would spend hours at the school’s park or running errands or going to the laundromat. Although I never lived in anywhere else other than in NYC, I have moved many times and I noticed that after moving to the suburbs, the parks were empty and the majority of my classmates have never even done laundry. Although these seem to be unimportant differences, they really stunned me at first but I soon realized that they were just another aspect of the melting pot. New York City is the definition of a melting pot because it is not only a combination of different nationalities but this city also hosts a wide range of ways of living which just adds to the uniqueness of this mysteriously harmonious city.

-Jordan Bellis