For the past three years, I had always romanticized staying in my college town for summer break, which is ironically New York City. After my freshman year of college, I was itching to come back to the city, and in my sophomore year summer, I would visit my best friend’s apartment weekly, but even that didn’t truly encapsulate what it is like to be a full-time resident in New York City over the summer. This past summer, I finally had the opportunity to live here over the break, which I had been so excited for, but there were many things I needed to do to prepare for that.
My number one priority was getting a full-time job for the summer because, well, we all need money to survive. The epitome of living in the city is breathing, and suddenly you’re down $100, so I desperately needed money. Now the idea of working over the summer seems normal, but that is only the reality for some here. Over the summer, the distraction of being surrounded by such a busy environment has never been so prevalent. Every day when the sun is shining, it becomes more and more impossible to show up to work because endless events and plans are being made, and everyone is trying to show up to everything. There’s an endless amount of park days, beach days, outdoor dinners, rooftop parties, and even trips out East that are always in the conversation. Most of the city actually flees out East once Memorial Day hits and then doesn’t return until Labor Day, making the city feel like a ghost town. Unfortunately, a lot of those plans were not in the cards for me.
Being a summer RA at my university while working two jobs meant still having minimal free time. With that being said, having to stay in Manhattan for the duration of the summer taught me a lot about what it truly is like to live here in the heat. I had never known NYC got so hot over the summer; you would’ve thought we were in Florida with the way it felt like 100 degrees every single day. I don’t think a day went by that I wasn’t dripping in sweat or gasping for air on my subway rides to work. If I didn’t have work, I honestly didn’t have the urge to step foot outside in the city-wide sauna. There was nothing that anyone could’ve done to avoid the heat; every time you left and came back to your home, a shower and fresh change of clothes were needed. Also, the amount of rain with the heat was just the cherry on top, so not only were you sweating, but you were often running through a rainstorm as well, with no warning from the forecast that an umbrella was needed. Between the heat and the rain, the city had a permanent stench, if you know what I mean. I never knew that a state in the northeast would become so hot that suddenly I needed an entire new wardrobe.
Even though I spent most of my summer commuting to work in this raging heat I have no regrets with staying in the city. I think getting through the constant heatwaves truly solidified my love for the city, because even through all of that I still didn’t want to spend any time at home in Connecticut this summer when I could be a 30 minute drive from the beach and endless ice cream places. Being here with my friends in the city, making memories between our infinite work days, was what I wanted to be doing. When my friend group had time to coordinate hangouts, you would often find us outdoor dining in some of the cutest neighborhoods, watching the sunset over the Brooklyn Bridge every day, and being out all night long dancing.
Despite my personal grievances with the New York City heat and the constant countdowns for my next day off work, I wouldn’t change a thing about this past summer. I genuinely lived my dream life and was able to make some of the best memories. I had a unique summer compared to many of my friends back home, who can’t stay in their college towns year-round. I hope that for many years after graduation, I get the same opportunity to struggle in the NYC summer heat because I wouldn’t trade it for the world.