According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 8.4 million people living in New York City. An estimated 1.6 million people living on the borough of Manhattan. This is not even considering the tourists that wander the streets every day. Newly made residents may say it's sometimes lonely in New York City.
I recall reading an article saying something along the lines of "You'd think that you'd meet so many people considering how packed and small Manhattan is". The reality lies in the fact that people are always busy. The streets are filled with people on their way somewhere or tourists getting around their dosage of pure urban life. It's fairly uncommon to find someone who stops to admire the weather.
I'm used to waking up to quietness. The type of morning where you hear nothing but the shifting of your bed sheets as you twist and turn then slowly crawl out of bed. The sweet sound of birds chirping and lots of space to roam around in an oversized t-shirt, fuzzy socks, messy bun hair and a pancake making spatula that doubles as a microphone. It's bliss.
It's been a little different moving to NYC. The first second was lonely but then I found love. I woke up to street sounds, sirens, barks, beeps, chatters and occasional whirs of the air conditioning and my roommate rattling out of her bed. I fall in love.
I fall in love with the morning coffee and the afternoon coffee. Dare I even say the evening coffee. I fall in love with the narrow streets, cute coffee shops, and yellow taxis that contrast with sleek shiny black cars. I fall in love with the close walks to just about anywhere and anything I want. I fall in love with the midnight laughs and adventures with my roommates. I fall in love with the concrete buildings that cradle us and fill our hearts and minds with ease. An ease that everyone here is not afraid to express themselves and accept each other, the place where you can find people drumming in the underground subway stations and drag queens slaying Union Square Park.
I fall in love with the tight cozy places that decorate themselves and find their own personalities. Surrounding myself around creative, accepting, independent individuals was the best decision I've ever made. I'm never lonely, just in love. You just have to stop, find your sense of wonder and apply yourself. I fell in love and can't imagine myself anywhere else. I just hope that my fellow New Yorkers attending their first year of college take this and a moment to themselves to explore and fall in love just like I have.
