The city that inspired me

We all have that one place that really got to us, that made us feel live and free. A place where anything can happen and we can be whoever we want. That place for me is the famous Big Apple. Cliche? Yes, but also true. 

I grew up looking at the US as an example, as the place you could do and be whatever the movies were saying. A few of my favorite movies and series happen in NYC, so you can imagine how I felt in 2011 when I got to achieve one of the biggest dreams. To set foot in the city that never sleeps, the city that kept me going in that horrible summer where I did every s*tty job to survive the Work and Travel program. But leaving the bad side, it was also my escape from a crappy relationship that I had back home, I met new people and I got to see how America looks. For some this might not sound as a big thing, but for a 20 something girl coming from a small town from Romania, from a middle class family that could barely afford the basics, well it was and still is, a big achievement.

So a couple of us took the bus from New Hampshire at the end of summer, beginning of October to be more precise, and went to New York. I still remember getting out of the bus in Chinatown, the loud voices, the smelly streets and us. Lost in a different world. Contrary to the belief, I found it amazing, even the rats from the subway amused me. The crazy dressed people and the crowds that were everywhere. A vibe of a gigantic city that was set to win my heart. 

To me it was love at first sight, with the city and also with a boy that I met there, a friend of my friends. I am not sure if it was the feeling that I had for the city that made me feel that way, but it was definitely something in the air. So here I was, in love with life, walking hand in hand, yet hiding this from our friends, on the Brooklyn bridge. Overseeing the huge buildings that were lighted even at night, wandering how the people living there were feeling at that moment .  

In the 5 days spent there I got to see the “iconic” places and to walk the streets of one of the biggest metropolis of the world, to see the city that never sleeps and experience a little bit the American dream. Almost 10 years later, it’s still the place that I want to return to.

Given the current job I visited other cities from the US, but none made me feel like New York, even if many would consider those better. It is my plan to relive the NYC experience and my only hope is that I will have the same feeling of power and inspiration that I had the first time. 

2020 is indeed a year that prevented us from traveling, but I do think we need to keep our hopes up and plan to resume our traveling plans in the upcoming years. I know I plan to see this amazing city again in the following year.