To New York and Back

New York….
I love New York, I always will. I cannot see myself ever moving away from this powerful and beautiful city.
Just like we discussed in class on Wednesday afternoon, the City can be many things to us.

Is it New York City- the Five Boroughs? Or just Manhattan? Personally, I’ve always viewed the city as Manhattan. The City has a mysterious and enigmatic feel to it. The term is so general yet it is infinite in its definition. It’s the angry, desperate, rush of the lunatic yellow cab drivers and the sharply dressed men and women always staring somewhere in the distance as they walk down every street and avenue of Manhattan. This is how the outsiders view New York City. As an individual who lived in New York City for more than half her life, NYC means the bodegas opened until 2am, the subway being the only entrance into Manhattan, the bus drivers who ignore your pleas as you run down the street flailing your arms, being late to every event and appointment because of that, the homeless who stand in the middle of the courtyard on 14th street yelling at passersby, and the endless amount of experiences and stories collected. There’s always the luxurious interpretation of New York City- and it’s usually from people who have not experienced New York on their own.

My interpretation is split into two. I’ve moved to New York 13 years ago- the move appeared so sudden and out of nowhere. I was woken up by my aunts and uncles helping my family pack, rush us to the airport, and waving goodbye. I was stunned by the separation and by the split in the road. My future could’ve continued in my rural hometown in Poland but instead, I endure the turbulence of growing up in the city of New York.
This was a massive change. My friends talked about growing up in New York, in the same house, city, or borough for their entire life and the small changes that came with it. Almost all of them went away for college.  Is it because they’re seeking a change of their own? Maybe this is why I stayed. Maybe I cannot go back to the simple life anymore. I am pulled in to the exciting and fast- paced drive of the city.

In his story, “A Walker in the City,” Alfred Krazin talks about the change he experiences in his town of Brownsville. The houses, structures, and people that were pushed out and the new ones that were pulled in and made. I can see that around my own neighborhood as well. The new butcher shop that opened up, closed down, and a new butcher shop opened up again. The names and signs may change but the store always stays the same. These changes occur so frequently that they do not affect me much so anymore. I know that changes are necessary whether it’s the city, neighborhood, the people, or the individual itself.