I went to Hamilton for a change of scenery. I was born in Boston, went to a crowded high school in the middle of the city, and proudly call myself an urban girl (and a Red Sox fan). I grew up taking the train. I didn't even get my license until my freshman year of college. A fast pace and a busy street are things that I am used to. I went to Hamilton for a change, a campus, a break from the place that I love so much. I remember coming home for the first time and finding that I had a greater appreciation for my city than ever before.
With this in mind, I came to New York. But city girl or no city girl, New York has proven itself to be in a category of its own. As a kid I used to go to sleep with that unnatural yet comfortable glow overhead, seeping through the screen of my skylight. That glow has been dwarfed. Here, my bedroom wall at night is decorated with a window view of millions of glittering lights. The huge expanse of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge takes on the appearance of strings of white lights, complemented by the green glow of the Statue of Liberty.
New York City is a place of extremes. It is stunning, but for many, can be overwhelming. In one location, you are able to see the very poor and, quite literally, some of the richest human beings in the world. Some may think that the tops of buildings is where you realize how tall they really are. That it isn't until you can see for miles, and the people look like swarms of insects that one can really grasp a skyscraper's magnitude. While the view from the top of the Empire State Building is a thrilling sight, it does not stand alone. The streets of New York are lined with these towers of cement, marble, and steel; all one really has to do it look up to feel their enormity.
And every day, through the revolving doors of these buildings, pass millions of people. Even the busiest street in Boston doesn't hold a candle to the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. Everyday, millions of people buy, sell, work, pay, get paid, and live. Yet many, in this city filled (in every direction – including up) to the brim, find themselves isolated. As E. B. White wrote, "New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy." The city can seem almost to be a machine, with each person playing his or her part in the daily grind. One may find it is possible to go an entire day without really holding a conversation. What I have found is that New York, as cliché as it sounds, really is the hub of opportunity in so many ways. If it is privacy you are seeking, you can find it here. If it is company, it's all around you. Somewhere in the city is a place for almost every type of person. And while I may have only experienced a bit of what New York has to offer, I can already sense where it is that I fit. It did, however, only take me until the second day to get in a Boston sports, home-team defending fight. Impressive or not, I will, of course, never say another city is better than mine.
