When I think of New York the first thing that comes to mind is Manhattan. The tall buildings, the parks, busy streets, and the many places to shop and eat. Living in Long Island it’s quite peaceful and there’s not much to see. Hanging out with friends would occur in school unless, we were hungry and grabbed a slice of pizza in our local pizza joint. But that was about it. So, when I first experienced Manhattan for myself I wondered how I could still be in New York when it felt like I was in another country.
Taking the LIRR I was able to see houses change into buildings and then finally entering through a tunnel and arriving at grand central station. I had no idea where I was going and had to follow the signs. Looking around I noticed that everyone was in a hurry and knew where they had to go. They walked around me and gave me looks as if I were an alien just because I couldn’t follow the flow of traffic. I finally got to the escalators bringing me outside and when I got there I just stood there. This place that I only heard of and saw pictures was finally being seen face to face. I looked up to see how high the buildings went, looked down the street to see the never ending road, and took a breath of the air getting only the scent of the hot dog cart right next to me. I found my friends there waiting for me then, off we went.
I seemed like there was no stopping as we walked from place to place. Going through stores I never heard of and taking photos with the stuff hanging on the shelves. Grabbing quick bites at “the must try” places according to my friend. Every corner we turned a hundred more things to see. The evening turned to night and my feet were ready to give up however, I wanted to see more. We decided that it was the right time to go to Time Square and yes it was. Seeing all those lights for the first time was amazing! The crowds gathered around to see live entertainments and the lines waiting to go into the flashy lighted buildings made the street so alive. From that day on I would always be excited when my friends and I would plan to go to the city to check out places we haven’t gotten to yet or even hit up the usual spots. I grew a bond with the city and to me it never gets old.