What New York Has Taught Me

May 22nd 2019

Oh I know, you know that here is home~

So today marks my last day in New York for quite a while and after living here for over 24 year, I felt like it would only be right to pay my respects to it in the best way I know how, by thanking it for everything it has taught me. So without further introduction, here is the list of the most important lessons and skills that living in New York has taught me:

1. How to be a fast walker- Fast walking is a skill that I picked up from years of visiting the city ever since I was young. I don’t know if it will really help me much when I move to the south where everything is a lot slower, but I definitely find the skill to be beneficial in general.
2. Patience is a virtue and always plan ahead- Long Island traffic SUCKS, but it has taught me the value of patience and pre-planning. I am perpetually early and relatively unbothered by traffic. My experiences with the LIRR have also taught me to be prepared for anything and always have a backup plan in terms of travel.
3. There are so many people you have yet to meet- New York is the 4th most populated state in the US with over 800 languages being spoken in NYC at one time. Whenever I get down about losing a friend or something, I just think of how many people are in New York alone and I begin to feel better about how many possibilities I have in life. I know there will be just as many possibilities in my new home.
4. There is always something going on if you’re willing to look for it- Yeah, New York has a lot more going on than the average place, but I still think that this rings true for anywhere. There is always something going on everywhere you look, you just have to be willing to look to find some cool stuff to do.
5. Be aware of your surroundings- This is a big lesson that living in New York has taught me, specifically all of the time I have spent going to the city for different events. Always always always be aware of your surrounding because no matter how safe you think you are, you need to be prepared for if things go wrong.
6. Home isn’t a person or place, but a feeling- New York will always be my home, not because I grew up here or my friends are here, but because it is where I feel the most at home. My heart is here and even after I settle into somewhere new, part of my heart will always be here. The memories and lessons I’ve gained here are what make it home.

Thank you, New York, for raising me and helping me grow. Thank you for giving me a home and a place to learn all of the lessons that will take me through the rest of my life. I can’t wait to come back and visit and share all I have learned while I was away. I don’t plan to be gone for too long though.

Jess~