I've only moved once in my thirteen years. To the small, wealthy town of Ridgefield, Connecticut after being born and spending two years in the small, wealthy town of Hartsdale, New York. I've been to the Big Apple only three or four times, and until today, Saturday, September 14th, 2013, i hadn't been to the city in 4 years. I never really thought much about New York City, until today. Today, i made a realization that surprised me quite a lot.
You see, I've always loved fields, forests, lakes, beaches and sunsets so much i never really gave anything outside of the small, isolated town that i live in. And every time i go into the city, i always expect the same thing- intimidation, slight fear, and to feel out of place in the urban setting. But I never feel that. Instead, i feel amazed. I feel completely at home. I feel more comfortable than I do in Ridgefield. I feel like i belong.
I'm not sure what it is about Manhattan that i find so wonderful. The beautiful, tall buildings, the bustling streets, the lights that never die, the sound that never fades. It's just strangely beautiful. It's beautifully urban.
But then, Queens is also beautifully urban, but it just doesn't seem to have the same effect. I don't feel as comfortable. It's not the same.
I guess i just like that there's a certain unpredictability. There's always a possibility of meeting someone who's changed you, but there's even more of a possibility that you'll meet someone who has yet to change you. There's just so many possibilities in Manhattan, really. It's so unfamiliar, so large, so vast. You don't know what will happen, or who you'll meet. There's a sort of mystery to it. You might be the one person out of so, so many that something good will happen to. You might come across a penny on the sidewalk, or you might find a hundred dollar bill. You just never know.
I guess what I’m saying is that the most important thing I got out of my trip to New York City is the realization that when you're in a big, big city, there's so many more things that could happen than when you're in a small town. And honestly, as much as I love living in Ridgefield, I think that when I’m old enough to live on my own, I'll live in New York City. For the beautiful, tall buildings, the bustling streets, for the lights that never die, the sound that never fades. But more than all that- for the unpredictability that may come with it.