From the first time I
visited New York City, I became obsessed with the idea of living here. Everything
I heard about it sounded glorious: cupcakes delivered at 3am? Same day Barnes
and Noble delivery? Ryan Gosling rescuing me from getting hit by a taxi?
visited New York City, I became obsessed with the idea of living here. Everything
I heard about it sounded glorious: cupcakes delivered at 3am? Same day Barnes
and Noble delivery? Ryan Gosling rescuing me from getting hit by a taxi?
Sign me up.
As it turns out, though,
visiting the city with your parents and being put up in swish hotels in Midtown
(or, alternatively, visiting without
parents and being put up in swish hotels in the West Village) and eating meals gratis at Pastis after a day at the spa
and shopping isn’t really what life in New York is like, especially if you live
in Brooklyn. Quel surprise!
visiting the city with your parents and being put up in swish hotels in Midtown
(or, alternatively, visiting without
parents and being put up in swish hotels in the West Village) and eating meals gratis at Pastis after a day at the spa
and shopping isn’t really what life in New York is like, especially if you live
in Brooklyn. Quel surprise!
I wasn’t exactly so detached
from reality to expect I’d be leading Carrie Bradshaw-like existence, but I
wasn’t thinking it would be quite so…disappointing,
either.
from reality to expect I’d be leading Carrie Bradshaw-like existence, but I
wasn’t thinking it would be quite so…disappointing,
either.
I used to stare at New
Yorkers in admiration and awe as they would walk in front of moving cars and
engage in other high-risk behaviors, such as ignoring every human being as they
cut lines (knowing full well 9/10 of those people could be packing) and pushing
people rudely out the way at every turn. I thought of them as peculiar,
death-defying individuals hardened by city life in a way my sweet little
suburban self just couldn’t understand. Now I do. I know the truth: they’re not
engaging in death defying behavior, they’re asking for it.
Yorkers in admiration and awe as they would walk in front of moving cars and
engage in other high-risk behaviors, such as ignoring every human being as they
cut lines (knowing full well 9/10 of those people could be packing) and pushing
people rudely out the way at every turn. I thought of them as peculiar,
death-defying individuals hardened by city life in a way my sweet little
suburban self just couldn’t understand. Now I do. I know the truth: they’re not
engaging in death defying behavior, they’re asking for it.
OK so maybe I’m
exaggerating, but only a little. But in my defense, everyone has asked me about
my impressions of New York City so far and I have to say that I’m both over and
underwhelmed at the same time. Try to imagine THAT.
exaggerating, but only a little. But in my defense, everyone has asked me about
my impressions of New York City so far and I have to say that I’m both over and
underwhelmed at the same time. Try to imagine THAT.
Essentially, if you’re ever
stayed up all night partying and woken up a full 24 hours later, unsure of the
time, day or your actual location, that’s how I feel- all the time.
stayed up all night partying and woken up a full 24 hours later, unsure of the
time, day or your actual location, that’s how I feel- all the time.
I feel like I did when I learned that Christopher
Columbus didn’t really discover America. The issue at hand wasn’t that I’d essentially been lied to, it was
that I was talked down to, that the teachers and powers that be at XYZ
Elementary didn’t think I would be smart enough to grasp the complexities of
the fact that America wasn’t actually discovered, people had just always “been”
here, and that the question of when European knowledge of the area actually
became wide spread brought up uncomfortable questions about our Euro-centric
epistemological system.
Columbus didn’t really discover America. The issue at hand wasn’t that I’d essentially been lied to, it was
that I was talked down to, that the teachers and powers that be at XYZ
Elementary didn’t think I would be smart enough to grasp the complexities of
the fact that America wasn’t actually discovered, people had just always “been”
here, and that the question of when European knowledge of the area actually
became wide spread brought up uncomfortable questions about our Euro-centric
epistemological system.
I feel that the way New York
is portrayed is the same. TV producers, novelists and musicians, with the
exception of Simon and Garfunkel, don’t feel like normal people could grasp the
complexities of how it feels to live in New York, so they take the easy way out
and give a very one-sided view. Which, when you move here, makes you feel like
you’re always emerging from the throes of a very hard day’s night.
is portrayed is the same. TV producers, novelists and musicians, with the
exception of Simon and Garfunkel, don’t feel like normal people could grasp the
complexities of how it feels to live in New York, so they take the easy way out
and give a very one-sided view. Which, when you move here, makes you feel like
you’re always emerging from the throes of a very hard day’s night.
 |
| A hard night like this- sorry for the photo quality, iPhone snap! |
($100 to the first person
who tells me which Simon and Garfunkel song I’m referring to!)
who tells me which Simon and Garfunkel song I’m referring to!)