I love how some people believe they are so open minded that they can become legitimate members of every city, culture, and place they visit. It reeks of arrogance. In their mind, going to a few tourist attractions, living in a posh refurbished house they were given for an internship and eating NYC cart food makes them undergo a magical transformation that allows them to be a "New Yorker". Well I'm here to remind you that you are not a New Yorker, Bostonian, DCer or what ever city you happened to intern at. And it's not because you weren't born there. It's because I believe, and at least I know this is true for New York City, that the drudgery of the city, the unspectacular moments of being on the train, taking the bus, having your train canceled, missing your favorite halal cart guy before he goes to lunch and other sort of mundane things are what makes up the bulk of NYC. You can't properly appreciate the oddities that can only exist within the city until you've lived through the monotonous hum of what the city is made of.
Also, when you live in a place temporarily, you only make short term investments in that place. Perhaps you decided to give a few dollars to a homeless man when walking down the street. Or you decided to buy a starburst from the teen selling it on the train to keep himself "out of trouble". These gestures, while kindhearted in nature, aren't long term investments. Compare this to those who have spent hours helping rebuild NYC for free after Sandy. How about the mentors who day in and day out mentor troubled kids in the city, accepting no compensation but smiles and brightened futures. These people are making long term investments because they realize that when they put more into the community they live in, their lives become richer. When you have felt that NYC has given you so much that you want to give it all back, then call yourself a New Yorker.
New York is a safe haven for so many that it would be irresponsible of me to not mention those who have fled to the city for its open minded culture. Many irresponsible teenagers and college dropouts come to a city where they know judgement won't be passed, and even if it were, then you're fully within your right to tell that person to fuck off. Those people are New Yorkers by default. They have no where else to go and so they call New York City their home because that's all they have.
And right along with them are all the workers and everyday people who aren't fortunate enough to go to an elite University. These are the people who serve hot dogs. Fix your roads. Unclog your pipes. Clean your hotel rooms. Basically anything you think seamlessly goes on in the city is in some part facilitated by them. For them New York City is just a place. They don't mindlessly take part in the revery we can clearly see in your poor photography of skylines and waterfronts. They don't have time for such merrymaking. Instead they have to make a living. But once in awhile they'll go over to Coney Island on a friday night. Exhausted and feasting on sandwiches they had prepared beforehand, you see them sit down with their family on the sand, while fireworks illuminate the sky above them. This is their vacation. This is their New York City.
New York and any city is an actual place. Not some fanciful wonderland, where with business savvy and a blind eye, you can live the "good life". There are plenty of people who have lived in the city all their lives and will never be New Yorkers. That's because the final step to being New Yorker isn't the flat out rejection of all of the wonderful things you are currently experiencing, but instead the acceptance of everything else the city has to the offer, good and bad.
Also, when you live in a place temporarily, you only make short term investments in that place. Perhaps you decided to give a few dollars to a homeless man when walking down the street. Or you decided to buy a starburst from the teen selling it on the train to keep himself "out of trouble". These gestures, while kindhearted in nature, aren't long term investments. Compare this to those who have spent hours helping rebuild NYC for free after Sandy. How about the mentors who day in and day out mentor troubled kids in the city, accepting no compensation but smiles and brightened futures. These people are making long term investments because they realize that when they put more into the community they live in, their lives become richer. When you have felt that NYC has given you so much that you want to give it all back, then call yourself a New Yorker.
New York is a safe haven for so many that it would be irresponsible of me to not mention those who have fled to the city for its open minded culture. Many irresponsible teenagers and college dropouts come to a city where they know judgement won't be passed, and even if it were, then you're fully within your right to tell that person to fuck off. Those people are New Yorkers by default. They have no where else to go and so they call New York City their home because that's all they have.
And right along with them are all the workers and everyday people who aren't fortunate enough to go to an elite University. These are the people who serve hot dogs. Fix your roads. Unclog your pipes. Clean your hotel rooms. Basically anything you think seamlessly goes on in the city is in some part facilitated by them. For them New York City is just a place. They don't mindlessly take part in the revery we can clearly see in your poor photography of skylines and waterfronts. They don't have time for such merrymaking. Instead they have to make a living. But once in awhile they'll go over to Coney Island on a friday night. Exhausted and feasting on sandwiches they had prepared beforehand, you see them sit down with their family on the sand, while fireworks illuminate the sky above them. This is their vacation. This is their New York City.
New York and any city is an actual place. Not some fanciful wonderland, where with business savvy and a blind eye, you can live the "good life". There are plenty of people who have lived in the city all their lives and will never be New Yorkers. That's because the final step to being New Yorker isn't the flat out rejection of all of the wonderful things you are currently experiencing, but instead the acceptance of everything else the city has to the offer, good and bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment