Colson Whitehead writes in The Colossus of New York that "I am here because I was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else." Well, I am here because I grew up in Vermont and ruined for any other rural area. I sought out the antithesis of my childhood experience and found New York City.
NYC is a great place to play with my identity - an especially important experiment as I prepare to make my way from college to the real world. While I'm here, I'll try on some more conservative world views, wear more black clothing, learn some of the finer points of art, and become adept at walking and talking on my cell phone at the same time (or for that matter learning how to work the voice mail function). The city is so large that it does not know or care who you were yesterday or who you will be tomorrow. Today, on the subway, I gave a woman directions to Water Street when just seven days ago I would have needed the same advice. My fluctuation between clueless hick and seasoned city dweller is constant. And I don't know which perception I prefer.
The city is certainly a vast difference from small and secluded Hamilton College. I'm still deciding which one I like better, and I don't know if I am city girl material. But I do know one thing. In response to Whitehead's statement, "I'm here because I was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else, but I don't know about you," I would say, "Well, Mr. Whitehead, I don't really know about me either."
