A NEW YORK DREAM
Three and a half years ago (oh how time flies!) I was lucky enough to have the chance to go to the magical, elusive, city of dreams: New York. I don't know how it happened. All I remember is my sister went on and on about going for a very long time, and my parents resisted all the same until suddenly one day, they didn't. They started to consider the idea, talk it over, check it out, and then in what felt like a flash of light, a whirlwind of time, we suddenly had a trip to New York booked and sorted. It didn't even feel real. These are the sorts of things that happen in dreams, on TV shows and films, written about it songs. It happens to other people, not you, until one day your golden ticket arrives, or you decide to give yourself that golden ticket, and voila, away you go to the Big Apple.
When we went it was early June 2012, the tailcoat of spring gradually transcending into a glorious summer. The weather was heavenly, mostly very sunny, warm and beautiful, with one day put aside for a spot of heavy rain. We stayed for a week and as you can imagine it all became one big blur of wonder, excitement, adventure, happiness. I don't even remember the whole trip chronologically any more. I just remember pockets of it every now and again. Sometimes I forget I even went at all, it feels like a dream I once had, because once again New York has returned into that magical, mysterious far-away paradise all over again. It's like my mind can't quite comprehend that I went there, yet simultaneously. I cherish those memories so dearly. I don't even know how to describe the city to you, or how it feels getting off the plane in New Jersey and seeing that looming, promising skyline in the distance, and realising for the first time that this incredible city really does exist. They weren't lying in all the books, photographs, articles, songs, films, TV shows. In fact, that might not have even done it true justice, but then again, how can you properly capture the essence and magnitude of a city like New York?
At the time I had just turned 16 and I didn't know what to expect or what I would find. I was somewhat naive, I was young, I was discovering myself, I was full of youthful optimism and at that point of my life I don't think I'd properly started living yet. I was only getting started, and New York marked what felt to me, my first tentative steps into what would become the best years of my life. I was buzzing. This is what is waiting out there in the world. This is just a taste of the possibilities that lie ahead. This is where dreams surely come true. There's more to life than I had previously thought. When we crossed over from New Jersey to New York by Amtrak, we were underneath the city when we arrived. We thought we knew what to expect, when we finally emerged into the New York City night and made our grand entrance, but I don't think anything can ever truly prepare you for something like that. When we walked out that Subway exit, it felt like climbing ascending stairs to paradise, because when we emerged we were right in front of Madison Square Garden, surrounded by arching skyscrapers, infinite motion, a million different lights, this exuberant, thriving electricity and hum of life unlike anything I've ever witnessed before. It was incredible. The rest of our trip was equally awe-inducing and very Gossip Girl-esque, whether our adventures were taking place in the light of day or dead of night. Even now it's all flooding back to me, all these simple yet wondrous things we did, and if I could give that experience to you I would a thousand times over. If you haven't yet been, I urge you to go at some point in your life. Just do it. You need to see this place. You'll never visit anywhere like it again. NYC has it's own brand of magic that it shares willingly with anyone who takes the time to visit.
The other day I was looking through photographs from our trip. I didn't take anywhere near as many photographs as I would have this time round. There's so much I didn't document or account for, with only my memories now to remind me. Yet simultaneously, that's okay because if I wasn't incessantly taking photos, that means I was living in the moment, and that's absolutely fine by me. At the time, I didn't have an outlet through which to share the photographs I did take from the special trip to NYC, hence I thought it would be nice to share them with you dear readers now, and I hope you love them as much as I do!
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-NEW YORK STATE OF MIND-
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