It seems like New York City is a hotspot for summer jobs and internships. The Big Apple has always been a metropolis for businessmen and women looking for a fast-paced and competitive environment. However, now more than ever, the millennial world is delving into the realm of NYC at what seems like an unimaginably fast and eager pace. For awhile, the thought of working in the heart of New York City seemed unappealing to me. I always thought of the city as dirty, difficult to navigate, and overrated. Having lived just outside of the city my entire life, I was set in my ways and determined that I was right, and that “I knew because I lived so close”. I was so wrong.
My first day at my internship was when I first felt the slight shift in my opinion of the city. I got off the train at Grand Central and wasn’t exactly phased by the terminal that I had seen so many times before. Whatever, I thought; I’ll just deal with it. I walked outside and began following the small map my dad had drawn for me the night before, detailing the short walk from the terminal to my new office. I had never really been in the heart of Midtown, but given that my office is on Madison and 40th, I was forced to get a true taste of the East Side. Flashes of trendy men and women, businesspeople and teens whizzed past me as I navigated through the grid of streets to my office. It was a beautiful day out, 75 degrees and sunny, and I couldn’t help but relish in the warm and welcoming walk that proceeded my original distaste. I walked slowly to my office, taking in the sights around me - tall glass buildings, wide, gray sidewalks, men in tailored suits and women in brightly-colored dresses. I counted the dozens of coffee shops that stared at me, each inviting me in with their welcoming, quaint, and unique atmospheres. Much to my surprise, I didn’t trip over heaps of garbage and litter, I didn’t find anything from a construction site or pigeon stuck in my unruly hair, and I didn’t get insanely lost among the numbered streets and avenues that previously daunted me.
I never appreciated the city until that day. I had been on the Upper East side (the supposed holy grail of NYC), various parts of SOHO (the “trendy” and “hipster” portion of the city), Brooklyn, Queens, and almost every touristy sight you could ever imagine. I had been to countless Broadway shows and Italian restaurants, and to Dylan’s Candy Bar about 50+ times. However, I had never been fully immersed in the city as an adult, independently walking through the streets and taking it all in. Over the past few weeks, I have developed a newfound appreciation for the city right outside my home. I’ve been introduced to a world filled with people on a mission, buildings with worlds inside them that I’ll never fully know, and scenery so breathtaking that it makes it difficult to see comparable beauty in anything else.
On the first day of my internship, I realized the beauty of my walk, but still rushed to work in an attempt to find my bearings and my office. However, I now stretch the four-minute walk to my office into a ten minute one, while I take in the concrete jungle that surrounds me. Many people who live in my town refer to the city as their second home — a place that is so easily accessible to them and just as familiar to them as their actual towns. I finally know what they mean, and at last, I can call New York City a second home, too.
