On a weekend trip to New York in October 2008, my plane slowly descended into LaGuardia airport, first encircling the shimmering lights of Manhattan like a terrible tease. Just shy of 19, I was convinced that New York City was made of glitter--that it shook loose on the sidewalks and poured into everything. The subways, the buses, the sidewalks, the skyscrapers, everything. Not actual glitter, of course, but that certain "it" factor that makes New York better than practically any other place in the world. And as we landed at LaGuardia and the tarmac began to twinkle silver under the giant lights of the airport, tears swelled in my eyes knowing that in just three days I would have to leave New York again.
To me, New York was that lover you see only occasionally. You spend a passionate weekend together every couple of months or even years, then you're off to your separate lives because there's really no other way your relationship can work. I fell in love with New York before I fell in love with any man. The mere idea of living here made my heart beat faster but also made it ache--would I ever really be able to live that dream?
And now I have. I have moved to New York to be a writer, maybe a photographer, maybe a jane of all trades. I have the apartment and I have a job and now, like all other New Yorkers (if I can even truly call myself that yet, having only been here 15 days), I am going to make it work. The "it" in question being the rest of the equation, whatever the next dream is.
In the meantime, though, I will pay homage to my new city the best way I know how: in words and pictures. This blog will be filled with scenes from a life in the city, snapshots (figurative and literal) of adventures and experiences throughout the brilliant five boroughs, and maybe even beyond. Stay tuned for more...
Step 1: Move to New York. Step 2: Have experiences.
