New York is a home to many different skin tones, ethnicities, religions, and cultures but there is one thing they all have in common: they are New Yorkers. However, if we were to be asked what makes us a New Yorker we would all provide different answers. Novelist Colson Whitehead writes in his article, “The Colossus of New York” of the qualities we inherit, or eventually do, as a New Yorker.
There are millions of people who are living in New York currently who aren’t pure New Yorkers. Perhaps they did not live here their entire life. Maybe some migrated here or moved from another state but the moment they seized their first view of New York, it was the moment they captured a mental photo of home. Whitehead states, “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it. Maybe you were in a cab leaving the airport when the skyline first roused itself into view. All your worldly possessions were in the trunk, and in your hand you held an address on a piece of paper [...] your first home here. That instant is the first brick in your city”. The first buildings, people, streets, or whatever it was that you first saw when you came into the city, is what you will always envision New York to be. That is the first mental image you snapped of your city and when things begin to change, you will notice and reminisce about what was once there.
We are individuals who live in our own private New York but as a society when things begin to change we all learn to adapt. "Maybe we become New Yorkers the day we realize that New York will go on without us. To put off the inevitable, we try to fix the city in place, remember it as it was, doing to the city what we would never allow to be done to ourselves”. Tourist always refer to New York as “the city that never sleeps” and maybe that’s because it’s always secretly changing in order to create a another private New York for an upcoming member of our big apple. There will always be a new building, new people, a new station, etc. This was change will always provide each individual New York with a sense of nostalgia at a point in their life.
Maybe how we envision New York isn’t what makes us feel like New Yorkers. It could be the qualities we perceive a New Yorker inherits after being here quite some time. If you have an alarm clock that you rely on to get up or a certain daily routine that you follow to make the day move along faster, then you are probably a typical New Yorker.
You are living the fast-paced life that comes with the status of New York. You may feel as if you are running out of time because of how quickly things move in this city. You may feel anxious and begin to map out your life and contemplate on whether or not what you are doing now is really benefiting what you truly want to do. It’s a fast-paced city, so you’re life will feel as if it has been rushed through without your consent. Haven’t you ever heard someone say. “It’s November already?” As a New Yorker, time will always be precious.
After living in the city for quite some time, you are somewhat armed with the mentality to be prepared for what’s to come. You may be insulted by some random stranger that you did nothing to or protect your personal belongings in public for you have seen endless numbers of robberies. You begin to develop trust issues after seeing many things. Or maybe, you’ve already become desensitized because the city is predictable to you.
Maybe you become a New Yorker when you have a specific spot for everything. There are many options to choose from in New York for just one thing that you are seeking; but you, as a New Yorker, know the best spots to go to after trying out so many of the others. Chances are you only trust a certain burger joint to satisfy your taste buds among the others you have eaten in the city or maybe you only like going to a specific hairstylist/barber because they made you look absolutely fabulous the first time they laid hands on your hair.
In the end, we all have a different take on what makes us New Yorkers. Despite New York's continual changes one thing remains the same, no matter where a New Yorker ends up they will always be a New Yorker.
