Home. To me, the connotations of the word, their in-sync sensations and spiritual sentiments, always bring me back to one place: New York City.

It is when I am geographically distant from Home (#college) that I realize just how sweet it is to be a human of New York. Now that I'm back for the summer, I am ready to inhale it all again. Manhattan will be running through my veins and its tribe of movers, shakers, and innovators will be family once again; any given day on the streets of SoHo is a family reunion to me.

If you find yourself in my home during your invincible summer, I challenge you to challenge yourself. Go. Seek. Adventure.

Here are just 10 of my favorite summer spots in the city that I love (as told by me and beloved photographs I've taken):

1. Strand Bookstore: 12th Street and Broadway - Union Square

Where wanderers from every path are welcome. Get lost within the stacks (18 miles of books!) and got lost within yourself. Here, Kerouac, Collins, and Camus live in the same sanctuary; Woolf, Wordsworth, and Whitman want to be flirted with. Pick up a book and smell its history in one indulgent whiff! My father, a fellow writer, and I come to this sacred space often in the summertime: it is where we are most connected. Whether you are in the mood for an anthology of ancient Japanese poetry, a 1930s French film, or Billy Joel on vinyl, you will find what you are looking for here. That and more. I guarantee it.

2. The High Line: 17th Street and 9th Avenue - Chelsea

Take the happiest stroll of your freaking life in NYC's historical railroad-turned-park. The High Line, once a medium for locomotives, now serves as the stomping ground for summery souls looking for the ultimate sensory experience. The High Line is not like any park you've ever been to before - unless you've been to Coulée verte René-Dumont in Paris, which would automatically make you a complete fancy pants. The High Line always awakens something new within me, for I am incessantly inspired that its wildflowers bloom from where they are planted - intertwined in the iron and steel history of the greatest city in the world.

3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 82nd Street and 5th Avenue - Upper East Side

When I step foot in this place, I legitimately feel as though I am walking on holy ground. The instant I become aware of the brilliance that is to be experienced within the museum's walls, I am nearly paralyzed with respect and awe. You can eavesdrop on a guided tour an art historian is leading in 5th Century Athens on the first floor, or you can sit for hours reading poetry in the space where Monet and his fellow Impressionists live. Be the only young adult among the herd of children doing arts and crafts, and befriend those artsy rugrats as you create! Do what you want. JUST BE AWAKE AND YOU WILL BECOME AWOKEN. OH GOD. I'M GETTING EMOTIONAL. BETTER MOVE ON NOW.

4. Chelsea Market: 15th Street and 9th Avenue - Union Square(ish)

Literally, just treat yo self. Treat yo self to a crêpe. Can't decide between savory or sweet? Treat yo self to both. Treat yo self to a new blouse in Anthropologie. Treat yo self to vintage pins and Woodstock vinyls in Artists & Fleas. Treat yo self to a handcrafted Moroccan rug for your dorm. Oh, is that a Free People pop up shop? YOU BEST BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE GOING TO TREAT YO SELF. Treat. Yo. Self. Here, you shall treat yo self.

5. Union Square Greenmarket: 16th Street and Union Square W - Union Square, duh

"I was in love with the whole world and all that lived in its rainy arms." There isn't much that fills my heart up so wholly with love more than perusing through a farmer's market on a rainy day. Learn of locally grown delicacies and the small business owners who create them. Listen to the stories behind the stores and buy your mom some jam. Street art is so special and pure, and you will experience tons of it here. Support your neighbors and feel like a true, responsible, and fellow New Yorker. It's the best!

6. The Museum of Modern Art: 53rd Street and 5th Avenue - Midtown

Frida! Frida! Frida! Experience our (almost) profound contemporaries, like VALIE EXPORT, Van Gogh, and Frida Kahlo in this vibrant and intensely inspiring space. As you ascend floor by floor, you will delve deeper and deeper into the history of visual and technological art. Here, the energy of excitement cannot go ignored - the walls are bursting with curiosity and invention. Go with a friend, and have fun interpreting abstract art. What's this? Why that? Question without worry of answering. Be open and enjoy.

7. Breezy Point: Queens - New York City

BEACH! BFFS! BIKES! BREEZY! Since I was a little girl, my best friends and I have spent glorious weekends at our sister's beach house in Breezy Point. When you're in Breezy, you have no choice but to be hypothetically inserted into Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" music video. Here, your worries quite literally melt like lemon drops. There is no better feeling than waking up next to your lifelong best friends, riding bikes to the deli for bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, racing to the beach until sundown, then dancing under the moon. When you are with the people you love most in the world, life is awesome, but when you are with the people you love most in the world barefoot and at the beach, life is too beautiful to even articulate your happiness accurately enough.

8. DUMBO: Brooklyn - New York City

There is always something cinematic about walking the Brooklyn Bridge, no matter how many times you've done it. In my opinion, the Brooklyn Bridge is the most beautiful bridge in the world. AND I'VE SEEN MY SHARE OF BRIDGES, PEOPLE. To travel across it via car is one beautiful thing, but to travel it on foot in the summer is something even more magnificent. Not to mention, the photo ops are limitless and grand. When you find yourself in Brooklyn, walk around in DUMBO - the hipster neighborhood that you visualize when you think Gossip Girl Brooklyn. Treat yo self to Shake Shack or a picnic, sprawl out on the lawn, and catch an outdoor screening of a movie I am sure you'll love. DUMBO is not only extremely accessible from Manhattan, but it is also a breath of fresh air from the hustle and bustle of the city. If you love being outdoors on a sunny day, get to DUMBO. You won't regret it.

9. The Willow Pilates and Yoga: Dongan Hills - Staten Island, NY

The best Sunday mornings in Staten Island are the summer ones when you decide to go to a noontime yoga class at The Willow. Here, you will learn that there is no ego in yoga - there is only listening to your body and honoring the divine source within you. When you are blessed with a yoga instructor who becomes a spiritual role model and friend (shout out to Betty; miss you, girl), you find your center with soul AND sass. This is the perfect way to get your body moving, your mind moving, and your week moving. Namaste.

10. Road Trip: Planet Earth - Wherever The Wind Takes You

Only two things are for certain: you'll start home and you'll return Home. The rest is up to you. Hop in your former teammate's Jeep, call shotgun in your older brother's broken down car, and go. Just go. Life is truly about enjoying the ride with windows down, air conditioner on, music blasted, and smiles contagious. For Pete's sake, it's summertime. Enjoy the ride.

Welcome to Summertime. Welcome to New York City. Welcome home.

xx, Amanda