New York City, “the city that never sleeps”, “the greatest city in the world”, “the Empire City”, a city so incredible, that living on east 72nd street on the Upper East wasn’t enough for Frank Sinatra, so he sang about it. The city so nice, they named it twice “NEW YORK, NEW YORK”! New York City is a world, if not a universe, all on it’s own. The tourist attraction of all tourist attractions. It’s on your bucket list even if you live in New York. I can say it was on mine.

I was born in Queens, and live on Long Island now. My mother used to work in the city when I was a child, and would take me with her some days. Having family in the city also gave me early exposure to the hype behind it all. However, even at the young age of 5, I always wondered what it would be like to walk those famous streets on my own. 11 years later, what would I see, smell, love, or experience? Would I love it? Would I hate it? Meghan Daum said in her essay My Misspent Youth, “I’ve always been somebody who exerts a great deal of energy trying to get my realities to match my fantasies, even if the fantasies are made from materials that are no longer manufactured”. I’ve only lived moments away from this place my whole life. This place with lights so bright, that at night the sky above looks like it has a halo, filled with all kinds of different people, with dreams, aspirations. Was New York City going to be everything I dreamed and hoped it would be? 

After one of my best friends Alisha and I, both got accepted into Cornell’s Hprep Program in 2018, the journey would soon begin. A journey of discovery that would teach me independence. The diversity, like how you can go to a certain town and experience a whole other culture. You can see the craziest and most abnormal things in New York every single day, and then one day you realize that you’ve become unfazed. You realize that this city is the “Mind Your Business and Keep It Moving” capital of the world. But the moment tragedy strikes, if someone is in need of major help, it’s like the entire city is willing to come to your rescue. There’s even a New York accent, and famous slang that’s come out of city boroughs. Transportation is also essential in this city. If you don’t have a car, you’re either on the bus or the LIRR. If not one of those, you’re in a Uber, Lyft, or taxi. The tone for my train experience was set on the 6 train, one day when I was visiting the city during the summer with my friends Shumaine and Sara. There were two men fighting in our train car, one man was homeless and the other man I believe was mentally ill. The homeless man had entered the train car with a cup, shaking it and asking for change. When he finally got to the other man, some incoherent and I’m sure unkind words were said and the situation escalated quickly after the homeless man threw a cup of coins at the other man. The entire quarrel happened so quickly that I hadn’t even realized how close both these men actually were to me. The coins and the cup almost hit me in the face but thankfully I wasn’t by myself that day. I swore that day I would never want to take the train by myself.  

Now I live in Long Island and compared to NYC, Long Island is a cake walk through Central Park. The smells are pleasant, the air is less polluted, and reasonably priced food. Trust me, all the hype that you hear about New York is real ! However there’s a downside to it all some days. For the starters we have the MTA system. Like delayed and packed trains during rush hour everyday, or Friday nights and the same thing goes for buses too. The horrid smells of these train stations and the critters and rats that make their home there is something I will never get used to. The smell of New York is definitely unique, one minute you’re smelling roasted peanuts and hotdogs, the next you’re smelling hot garbage with a hint of urine and cigarette smoke. And how could I forget about the tourists who walk in slow motion on the streets and sidewalks? Or the New Yorkers who walk without purpose because for some reason they woke up that day and forgot that they live in a fast paced city. Then some wonder why they get cursed out or dirty looks for walking to slow. I’m guilty of giving those looks myself. And we can’t forget about all the free entertainment on the streets along with their strange characters. The price of food could be less expensive, paying an arm and a leg for McDonald’s, hotdogs, or whatever food truck is on the street burns a hole in your pocket. 

Like I said earlier, my NYC experience began with my best friend, and I got accepted into two health exposure programs. I applied to these programs to actually get a feel of what it is like working in the medical field and to see if it was a career worth trying to pursue. I enjoy different hands-on experiences like CPR training, Stop The Bleed Training, Suture Training, etc. I also really liked hearing stories of different healthcare workers, about how they got where they are today. Their experiences in the field, and why they love it so much. While being in both programs, I made a few great friends who have impeccable senses of humor. Also while in the NYU program, we got the chance to visit NYU’s undergraduate school. I was super happy to finally get to know New York City for myself. Every single day I was in the city, there were different things that I found myself loving and trying. Whether it be food, transportation, stores, or sightseeing spots.For example, I LOVE SOPHIES! It’s a cuban cuisine spot that my friend Sara and her mom showed me. It was where I discovered my real love hispanic food. The dish I had was the pernil with a twist sandwich, it was amazing ! There are other places I’ve eaten too, there was this burger and sandwich place and in the words of a New York City teenager, the food “SLAPPED”, which means the food was immaculate ! Then there was the first time I had bubble tea, it was unlike anything I had ever before. I slowly developed an addiction to this drink and made sure I had a cup every single time I was in the city, whether it was a visit or for my Cornell and NYU programs. Not long after I got my friends hooked on bubble tea as well. 

The adventures I’ve had walking around the streets of the most famous city in the entire world are endless ! There was a time, a few friends and I had gone to visit The Highline. After we were walking back to get something to eat and there was a random guy who was looking at my friend Kyla. He then proceeded to yell and say “AYO! IT’S BEYONCE”, unsure of whether to laugh or run for our lives,  we decided on just walking away as fast as we could. On another visit with friends, we were on our way home from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a strange man entered our train car whispering and murmuring to himself. My friends, Alisha and Brandon, were going to get us killed because they kept laughing while directly looking and pointing at the man. The rest of my friends and I were doing what any other sane New Yorker would do. Which was ignoring him, minding our business, and looking the other way. Long story short, the situation began to escalate and we had to run and switch carts.There was a day I was dressed up to go have fun in the city with my friends, yet again. We had our sights on Times Square that day, and yet another strange man from a weed truck was eyeing me. Unapologetically! We made eye contact and he never broke his stare.  I thought I was being delusional until my friend Sydnae saw it too and told me. As we were coming close to passing the truck, the man inside started trying to speak to me and was about to bravely open the door and come up to my friends and I. At that moment, my name was no longer Kristen Cherfilus, but Barry Allen. The fastest man alive, the Flash. I dashed across the street, not paying attention to any traffic or stop lights. When I finally looked back to my friends, they were 2 long manhattan city blocks away. My favorite memory of being in the city would have to be taking pictures for my photography class on the Highline, or seeing the upside down flute man. I was leaving my NYU program to get some food with other friends, after we got our food and headed to the train station. There was a man in his underwear hanging upside down from the tree playing a flute. The lack of attention this man was getting proved to me that day how unfazed New Yorkers really are. Because I laughed so hard and had to take a video. 

Joan Didion said “ Some years passed, but I still did not lose that sense of wonder about New York ”. Finally getting to conquer NYC on my own and with my friends, it made me more independent. My expectations were met in the funniest ways. But there’s definitely more restaurants I want to eat at, museums I want to see, thrifting I want to try, secret spots I want to find, broadway shows I want to cross off my list, and exploring that I want to do. What does New York City mean to me? After health exposure programs, train car fights, and running away from the strangest characters in New York, I still see it as a place of adventure. An escape from boring and suburban Long island. I almost feel like it’s turned me into a real New Yorker, it makes me proud to be a New Yorker. Like I’ve found where I fit into culture and way of life. I can’t wait to discover the rest of it, along with myself.