Hmmm, is New York my Eden? Or my Inferno? I have never really thought about this question, maybe because of the fact that I have never had a permanent residence anywhere else other than New York. I’ve visited and stayed for brief periods in many other locations. I occasionally visit my cousin’s house in Long Island and in Canada but I only go there for them. I don’t mind visiting places such as these but would not want to live in such place because I find it too boring. There are only a couple of houses on each block and there isn’t much life after five or six o’ clock. I really can’t imagine myself living in a quiet rural town in North Dakota where the population of the town is only five hundred people. New York is simply, unique. It is different than any other city or place in the world; it is a cultural melting pot, and a place of vast opportunity that you won’t find anywhere else.
Although New York can be Eden to many, it can also be an Inferno. Frank Sinatra famously sang in his song, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere”. I believe in this because it can get really rough in New York when you first arrive and have nowhere to go to. Many people have to start from the bottom of the ladder, with no job, no money, and no place to live, similar to the situation of Maria in Maria Full of Grace. This city will eat you up in a second if you don’t embrace it with passion and vigor. Fortunately for me, my parents had to endure through all that when I was little, and didn’t understand what was going on around me. I am really grateful to my parents for all that they have done to survive in New York, and all the opportunities they have provided me, so hopefully when the time comes, I will be able to repay them.
One aspect of New York, that I really do appreciate, as others have mentioned, would be the public transportation system. Sure, at times I get angry when there are train delays and when it takes thirty minutes just for one bus to arrive but, I’ve learned that I really should appreciate the public transportation system because only in New York will you be able to take, at most, a one and a half hour train/bus ride to heaven. Public transportation pretty much makes cars obsolete. You can go anywhere you want, Times Square, the World Trade Center, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, or one of the most grand train stations in the world, Penn station. Who wouldn’t love having the opportunity to visit all these places without the use of a car and getting stuck in miles of New York City traffic?
I never really appreciated New York for what it is until this semester of college. I took for granted everything we have but now, I’ve realized that New York truly is unique because of it’s ability to sustain everything. It’s ability to accompany, and thrive off of all of the cultural diversity. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in the world, other than New York. Call me a dreamer but n ten years from now, I imagine myself living in a luxurious apartment on Fifth Avenue. I would undoubtedly say that New York is my Eden.
One night I had a dream my parents picked up all our belongings and moved us upstate. We relocated to a small town surrounded by miles and miles of trees. In this town there was one big supermarket, one high school, and everyone knew everybody else’s name and everybody else’s business. I cried and fought and begged with my parents to move back. I wanted to move back to Queens where it’s scary to walk alone at night. To Queens where the buses don’t come on time, but run on sporadic schedules put together by bored drivers. And most importantly I wanted to simply be in New York City, I wanted to be back in the loudness, back in the smelliness of it all.
I finally awoke from my nightmare, and my misery quickly dissipated. I was in Queens, it was five in the morning, and I could hear the low, heavy hum of the Q84 as it chugged past my bedroom window. Perfect.
As you can tell, New York City is easily my Eden. I love this place. I love visiting Times Square and watching the tourists “ooh” and “ahh” over the buildings I’ve seen a bajillion times. I love visiting Central Park and watching the classy Manhattan residents picking up after their dogs. I even appreciate the homeless and the guilt they must instill in us in order to get through the days.
I love you New York.
I love your potholes. I love your streetlights, I love your trains and your buses. I love your yellow cabs, your dollar cabs, and all your other shady cabs. I love your brightly lit plazas and your dark side streets. I love your cute convenient delis, and the foreign, friendly owners who work inside. I love your bold, obnoxious teenagers. Even the way they heckle and jeer on the buses, I especially love the way they jeer. Because they’re careless, because they’re fearless.
I love you New York.
I love your market places. I love the way your venders argue non-stop on the price of mangoes: “two for five dollars.” I love the colorful scarves for sale on the streets of Brooklyn, and the hats from the carts in Flushing, and the gloves outside Queens Center. I love the books sold by the friendly old men outside the Metropolitan Museum. I love the fact that delicious shish kebabs are available almost anywhere.
And honestly New York, don’t mind what I said earlier. I really don’t mind walking alone at night that much, mace should solve mishaps that could happen in the dark. And if I ever miss a bus, another one will surely come no matter how late. Loudness is preferred. Smell pass. Because really…
I love you New York. <3
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