Visions of Gotham: Topics in NYC from 1945 to Present

Hi, my name is Miriam Bhutta. My family is from Lahore, Pakistan, but I was born in New Jersey, in 1990.  I enjoy reading, spending time with my family and friends,  learning new things, and pondering deep questions about life. I consider myself to be a Muslim American, and I take great pride in both identities.
Immediately after I was born, my family moved to Pakistan, in order to be with family. There was a certain loneliness associated with being in America because we were the only people here from our entire extended family. I learned Urdu first, and grew up speaking Urdu at home. My family moved back to America three years later. In kindergarten, I realized everyone else was speaking a different language. This was quite disconcerting, but with the help of my kind and patient teachers, and with the easily molded mind of a five-year old, I quickly learned how to speak English. I did not take ESL classes until the second grade, although I really do not know why, I would think my English would be all right by then, but apparently I would be wrong to think that.
In 2001, I started my first day as a Junior High School student. My time spent in the school can only be described as long. However, I did meet some of New York’s greatest teachers at this school. Maybe this is when I became a New Yorker. when I was sitting in a classroom with teachers who were more than qualified to teach the same subject to 30 minds that were all on different pages. That’s one way to look at it, but, to me, New York has another overall meaning, besides a great education.
What’s the one rare thing we have, that everyone else can only hope to emulate? It’s not our diversity; there are other places in the world that have this. It’s not our skyscrapers; nowadays, you can find those in every major city. It’s not even our prices, although, one might call them high. It’s our rare combination of diversity and harmony. To be diverse, in terms of a society, means that there are a lot of different kinds of people that happen to be in close proximity to one another. However, the word “diverse” conveys nothing more than an image of different colors, shapes, and sizes. It’s the harmony that makes this diversity worth something. It’s the fact that people with completely different backgrounds, ancestors, and beliefs, can become the closest of friends. They don’t just conveniently get along, but they instead form inseparable bonds based on their similarities and differences.
Based on all this, I would have to say that I became a New Yorker when I was 14 years old. My days in high school were my first days of being a New Yorker. That was when I first saw the beauty of acceptance despite all differences. I found myself surrounded by every personality and culture imaginable. My close circle of friends consisted of no two people who were exactly alike, or who were even similar to me. As I think back on it, I can’t even remember where any of us stood on similar footing. In terms of religion, politics, neighborhoods, status, personality, and looks, we were all incompatible. Yet somehow, none of these things mattered or ever became evident. In class, in the hallways, and outside of school, we all remained the best of friends. Even now, five years after meeting, we all keep in touch and update each other on our college lives.
This experience of absolute harmony in spite of all of our many differences is the experience that made me into a New Yorker. Even now, I will continue to define a New Yorker as someone who is able to form extremely close bonds outside of their own culture, race, religion, and political views.