Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

by Mary Smich Read by Baz Luhrmann

Sharing my English essay. :P I heart NY.                                               

Waking Up in the City That Never Sleeps

New York City did not necessarily welcome me with open arms. The first time I set foot in the Big Apple, I was only 13, dizzy and jet lagged from the previous day’s flight. In my eyes then, New York was one giant workplace. Skyscrapers and office buildings lined up every empty space. People seemed cold and impersonal, as they rushed off to work in their all black power suits, cellular phones in one hand, coffee on the other. I vividly remember sticking out like a sore thumb in my maroon sweater, jeans and rubber shoes and feeling lost in the sea of corporate people, one of the few tourists among a million natives. I’m not really sure how, but somehow, amidst the bad traffic and indifferent people, somewhere in between the subway ride from downtown to the Upper West side, I completely fell in love with the city that never sleeps.  

            I wasn’t exactly sure when my love affair with this city began. Perhaps it started with  Serendipity 3 Café’s Frozen Hot Chocolate, Strand Bookstore’s wide array of books (it claims to have 8 miles of books), or Times Square’s vibrant and colorful lights at night. Maybe it was the rows and rows of shops lining up Fifth Avenue and 34^th Street, or the majesty of the Statue of Liberty, standing in all its glory on Ellis Island which made me see beyond my first impression of the city. Regardless of where or when it started, I couldn’t deny the fact that the city was slowly working its charm on me. I had started to love every bit of it. Central Park’s vast green fields complete with the view of the buildings just right behind the tall trees gave me a sense of tranquility. Looking up from the park, one can easily spot the Empire State Building in its entire splendor, glistening under the hot sun injecting  a sense of awe. Of course, Broadway is not one to be forgotten. The superb acting, intricately-made props and impressive effects are indeed at their best here. Coney Island, complete with its wooden rollercoaster and carnival-like boardwalk, had somehow made me feel giddy and excited. I ultimately lost myself in all the art and beauty of The Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as the Museum of Modern Art. Even the relatively trivial things, such as the crowded subway trips and my first slice of genuine cheesy New York Pizza thrilled me. In many ways, the city has awoken in me a spirit I never knew I had.

            Walking down the streets of New York after rush hour is always a visual treat. One can never miss out on the different products sold by sidewalk vendors. Hotdogs with the works, bagels with cream cheese, imitation wallets, clothes and the like, well read second hand books and Chinese paintings to name a few. The variety of different cultures in the city also adds to the mystery and charm of it all. There are the intellectual Asians who are seemingly absorbed in their own thoughts, the rather expressive Latinos who laugh wholeheartedly while strolling about the sidewalks, the artistic African Americans who wouldn’t hesitate to show their talents to the world and the confident Caucasians who would always be armed with a smile. There are also a lot of interesting personalities to note, the bohemian artist with his vintage outfits, the fashion trendsetter with his designer clothes, and the mysterious one in his perennial black attire, among a few.

            When I went to New York five years ago, I somehow left my heart there, and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t seem to get it back. Maybe in the future, I’ll find myself on a plane back to the Big Apple, in an attempt to get my heart back, but ultimately leaving so much more than I originally left behind. Perhaps this is just the start of it all, my never ending love affair with the city that never sleeps.