The Statue of Liberty is perhaps the most iconic monument in New York City. It is the beacon that welcomes people from far and wide to the city that never sleeps and here I was, looking directly at it. It was as if my future was laying before me in the form of high rise buildings, honking horns and the smell of halal food and opportunity.
Ever since I was a young girl, I have wanted nothing more than to live the rest of my life in this city. In the beginning of my senior year, the time came around for me to make the big college decision and I could not even think about attending a school in any other place besides New York. Finally, the dream was beginning to come true.
A few short months later and it was move in day at the New Yorker Hotel residence. My father drove myself, my sister and my mom from our little Long Island town, into the crazy hustle and bustle of the city. Before the chaos of attempting to fit all of my things into a tiny dorm began, my family and I made a quick stop to look out across New York Harbor and look at the same statue that welcomed my immigrant grandparents to the city; the city that was now welcoming me. It was a surreal moment for all of us, to think that I was about to start the defining moments of the rest of my life. It was also terrifying, slightly, because I was going to be on my own for the first time in my life and I was going to have to do everything for myself. I also had a new school, classes, and work to worry about on top of all of the other responsibilities. Yet, the statue somehow calmed me. Of course, everything was still unknown and I was about to have to do everything on my own, but the statue, the harbor and the city skyline somehow made me feel like everything was going to be okay. It reminded me of the fact that my grandparents came here truly on their own, not even able to speak English, and they made it. They were probably terrified too, but they saw the statue, and their future, ahead of them and they figured it all out. The statue reminded me that if they could, then I could.
From there, we headed to the hotel to set up my room, and it was one of the best days of my life. My parents and my sister headed back home, and I began the rest of my life. Although scary, it was exciting and I felt like I could do anything I dreamed of, and that I could achieve anything I set my mind to. I keep a photo of the statue by my bed, and it will always remind me of my grandparents and that I am in control; it promises me that I can anything that I want to.
