Who doesn’t agree that New York City is one of the greatest cities in the world? We have so much to offer in this city. We have tall buildings that sit so perfectly in a beautifully silhouetted skyline. We have many different cultures blending and clashing and barely coexisting. We also have rats the size of kittens and singers and dancers and people who smell funny ask you for a moment of your time and penny from your pocket.
The part of this city I live in now is the Lower East Side. Most people don’t know what I’m talking about so you might know it as Chinatown/ Alphabet city. I haven’t always lived here though. I came from Brooklyn, to Spanish Harlem to where I live now. I miss living in Brooklyn because I lived right across the street from the beach. I also had a better education because I learned more than when I moved to Manhattan. Manhattan has many more opportunities, however. Manhattan is also a lot more cleaner and developed compared to the Brooklyn neighborhoods I grew up in. Changes I’ve noticed is more cultures are starting to live amongst each other in certain neighborhoods, but New York City still has segregated neighborhoods. You have to be a certain race and ethnicity to dwell in some of these neighborhoods.
I grew up here my entire life. I’m used to the scenery, the smells, the sounds, the beauty and the terror. I’ve grown so accustomed to this city that even when I go out of town, I get so homesick. My favorite part of vacations is the going home part. It’s ridiculous actually considering that one of my goals is to travel to as many places as I can. My mother is also thinking about moving down south somewhere, and even the thought of leaving New York City is driving me crazy. I can never leave the place that I’ve always known and grown to love.
This city might not mean as much to anyone else and I might even be judged for loving this city that is not all that glamorous as the world might see it, but truthfully, I don’t care. I plan on staying here for as long as I can. This is my home.
