Who Am I?
When people ask me “what are you?” or “Where are you from?” I usually say “I’m black and from the Bronx” to keep the conversation to a minimum. However, I am a first generation American to two immigrants. My mother was born and raised in Maypen, Jamaica with African, Cuban, English and Syrian descent in her bloodline as well. My father was born in London, England and raised in Clarendon, Hayes, Jamaica from the age of four. Both of my parents immigrated to America in the 80’s in pursuit of careers in nursing and engineering. My mother achieved her nursing license in Houston, Texas and later reunited with my father and his family in New York. We still have the majority of our extended families, more than I know, in other countries including England, Jamaica, and Canada. Oddly enough, people mistake my mother and sister for Dominican, claim my father has a Caribbean accent despite him living in New York longer than anywhere else, and say I don’t seem to be anything besides American.
Having spent my childhood in Parkchester, currently living in Fleetwood, Mount Vernon, and going to school in Spanish Harlem since the 7th grade, I can confidently say New York City is the only home I know. There are definitely times when I am an obnoxious New Yorker and think my city is the center of the universe. However, there are times when I feel the urge to escape and never come back. One thing I like about living in the Metropolitan area is the easy access to transportation. In other states a car and a license is a necessity from the early age of 16 to get around. In New York, however, there is a subway, train, or bus that can take me anywhere I want/need to go. Another benefit of living in New York is the exposure to many cultures and kinds of people. It isn’t a rare occurrence to see a IHOP, a bubble-tea shop, and a Famiglia all on the same street. Everyone has the opportunity to eat food and experience music and festivities of different backgrounds in one of the five boroughs at some point in the year. Another bonus with living in NYC is that many stores close late or operate for 24 hours 7 days a week. Corner stores, convenience stores, and pharmacies are in close proximity for any emergency at any time of day.
Despite these benefits, living in NYC definitely has its drawbacks. Attending a CUNY has shown me that college can be very lonely and boring. The fast-paced hustle-bustle nature of the city is implanted in the college atmosphere. It makes it very difficult to make friends and the lack of campus eliminates the feeling of being college especially for the majority of the student body who don’t dorm. On that note, legally, there isn’t much for a broke college student, under the age of 21 to do in the city, so thus far my college experience has been disappointing. Another disadvantage is that many New Yorkers are so dependent on the MTA and the service keeps getting worse while the fares keep rising. I pay $117/month for train delays and signal malfunctions that are never fixed on the weekends when service is slow. Finally, dorming in NYC has sometimes made it difficult to concentrate with all of the traffic noise that is still loud through closed windows. There is never a day an ambulance isn’t blasting its siren or car horns aren’t piercing the air because of inevitable rush hour traffic.
