NEW YEAR, NEW YORK

There is something poetic in New York. No, it is not the overwhelming glistening lights or the obnoxious horns blaring from stories below or all of the crowded tourists pleasures. 

New York is a place of unity & I think that is what makes it so magical. Dating back to the 1800's, millions of people have made the great trip to come to that island longing for hope of a better tomorrow. That is still seen today.

I suppose I should mention why I was in New York right after the new year. Twenty one has been quite the exhilarating year for me in both good and bad. I have never felt more alone and more at peace with my solitude. Even as I found myself, I also found a new relationship with my mother and father. Leaving home makes you appreciate the leisure of life. 

For Christmas this year I was enticed to do something special that all three of us could share together. Finding the time to create memories with your family grows harder when you become older. So I booked us a night to New York. My father, who is actually my step father & one of the most wonderful men to grace this world, has always been a ginormous New York Jets Fan. All of his friends from our area give him such a hard time as to why he isn't a Buffalo Bills fan. He had never been to a game at the stadium in Jersey and by luck they just happened to be playing the Bills that day. Granted, it was the end of the season so the win didn't matter, but when the Jets beat the Bills, we all couldn't help but smile. 

Going to New York was something my mother always did at least every two years when I was younger. She slowly stopped and her & I had been day dreaming about going for over a year now. She gets the atmosphere of New York. The constant motivation to work and do more than thrive. Seeing her laugh and hold hand with my dad in the city was just one of those moments you save forever in your brain. 

As I mentioned before, as I child I got to experience New York and I instantly fell in love. I think I was always a weird little creature searching for something to belong to & the beautiful thing about cities is they attract people of all sorts. My soul feels so full when I see someone living out their own best life. No one to stop them or take away their opportunity. 

New York has been that sanctuary for the unique, the crazy, the hopeful, the hardworking. You can still see it today. The best part about this trip was all of the wandering we did to find random hidden treasures. One of them was a dark, cozy gastropub buried in The Wall Street district. Warm wood lined the ceiling, floors, and tables. You could smell the hoppy beer pouring out of the taps & the delicious fryer oil fumes from which came housemade bacon cheese onion rings. We had spoken to three girls who were waitress and each one of them accompanied a different accent. 

The next morning, there were men lining the pathways of battery park looking to sell some small trinkets of New York who had thick Middle Eastern accents. We ate lunch at a dive bar who's walls were plastered with service men's, police, firemen, military, badges from all across the country. We hoped in the car and drove over the Brooklyn bridge to Cobble Hill where we spent the remainder of our time browsing all of the unusual shops. Each store carried an individual expression of design. Brooklyn was probably the most special place for me. I could forecast myself living there quite easily. 

Spending the first few days of this new year in New York gave me even more understanding of who I am. I have a tendency to forget just how young I am and how much I have accomplished. The problem is that it is never enough. I'm always drowning myself in the need to find more goals and see them through. Overwhelming my mind and schedule leads to nowhere. Hence why it has been months since I've posted. This year will be different. This year I will continue to grow and maybe I don't have some large goal ahead of me, but small goals are just as good for they lead to larger things. 

If you're still reading this, welcome back. I have missed you dearly. To us in this remarkable new year.