For many, the perception of life in New York City is driven by one thing: the TV show Friends. I’m just going to start this off by saying: no, your life will not be like Rachel Green’s. New York is such a fascinating place and it goes far beyond the poorly aged Friends series. Life is already crazy, but moving to the city that never sleeps makes it a bit more insane.
Moving to Manhattan at eighteen was definitely the biggest and scariest decision of my life. Never did I think just a month in the city would change me entirely. Everyone who moves to Manhattan has a past life they most likely want to forget, and you’re in the perfect city for reinventing yourself. If you had told me a year ago that I would be singing “Empire State of Mind” with Alicia Keys in the middle of Central Park at the Global Citizens Festival, I would’ve thought you were crazy. Not only did I experience the iconic Alicia Keys performance, but I was also graced with seeing Queen + Adam Lambert, NCT 127, Carole King, H.E.R., Leonardo DiCaprio, and so many other legends I never thought I would see.
Life in New York is definitely something you have to take day by day- some days you feel like you’re in the production of Newsies and others you will feel if you’re not meant to be here. All the doubts you’ll experience are magnified because of the intense surroundings, but everyone is going through the same thing. Whether it’s homesickness or going uptown instead of downtown, New York life is not an easy transition, but it’s like that for a reason.
When you move to NYC, you’re literally taking on the world. Most days everything from school, work, relationships, family, friends, and hearing sirens when you just want to sleep is the most frustrating thing in the world. New York will chew you up and spit you back out as a whole new person, but it does it for a reason.
I’ve known for a while that I’m meant to live a chapter of my life in New York. If you’re like me and were overwhelmed by the college decision; honestly just follow your heart. If I went against my heart I would be miserable on a traditional campus, but my heart knew what was right for me.
New York to me is more like Girls Meets World rather than Friends. The world is filled with so many opportunities and some days you can’t believe the spectacle of your everyday life. New York isn’t easy in the slightest, but you’ll never have a boring day in your life. As Alicia Keys puts it perfectly; “These streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you.”