Sometimes you just have to stop and smell the roses, or, in my case...the kimchi fried rice balls. See, the 33rd St. PATH train that connects New Jersey to New York lets out at Herald Square. The same Herald Square you see on TV every Thanksgiving, the little tuft of open space between Macys and Victoria's Secret, where Santa stops to wave to the throngs of parade-watchers in the bitter cold. I have been all over the five boroughs of New York and have lived here almost five years and can honestly say that this patch of street—from 33rd to 35th along 5th avenue—is the most awful place in the entire city. Awful for the sole fact that it is so mind-bogglingly congested. It does not matter what time of day or how bad the weather—every single tourist that has ever been or ever will be seems to flock to these sacred streets. The problem is that there is more to New York than just tourists. Hello! I am trying to get to work. Take your selfie stick elsewhere please. I spent last Winter and Spring thinking: okay, at least this is as bad as it can get. Piles of snow and slush? Check. Thousands of people blocking my path? Check. Biting winds, 20 MTA buses, and constant sirens? We got this. And then the summer came and someone in the Urban Beautification, Revitalization, and Development Department decided that what the Square really needed was a little TLC. In the form of a food stall village, smack in the middle of the sidewalk. Now, I am the first person to love a good food stall, especially ones that have to meet the extremely high expectations of New York's foodie-hearted populous. But in my day-to-day life, I care more about efficiency than cool factor. I just want to walk to work without needing to strategically plan every step. So, I spent a few months inwardly grumbling, wondering when the food stalls would leave and begrudging the extra crowds they attracted. Now on top of tourists, my daily grind included 1) weaving in and out of lines of people trying to decide what to eat and 2) resisting the temptation to buy alluring snacks at 5:35 when I'm starving at the end of the day. But this past Wednesday, for some reason, I stopped, letting others rush past me on the race to the train. It was already dark, another thing I had hated ever since September. But I guess my newly darkened homeward commute painted a new picture for me. The literal shifted perspective made me notice the twinkling cafe lights hanging from the trees, the smoke curling up from the roofs of the stands, and most of all the smell of the kimchi fried rice balls. Pausing for two seconds to take it all in, I became a tourist in my own city all over again. It’s really beautiful isn’t it? New York is a world of extremes. Sometimes it’s the best place on earth. It’s New York, the gateway to the world, and you cannot believe you have the privilege to be living here. Other times, it’s the most inconvenient, crowded, expensive, strange place you’ve ever been and you can’t believe you were insane enough to think you could live here. I think a true New Yorker is the person who can honestly say “I love it and I hate it.” The key is just to make sure you keep falling in love with it every so often.
2 Comments
Marti
11/8/2015 08:57:28 pm
I think we all need to fall in love with our home town every now and then. Good reminder, Sarah.
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Jon
11/15/2015 02:01:08 am
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times... :)
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Authorwife to a med student and mama to three under three, seeking the joyful and learning to live by faith. Find me on Instagram and Pinterest or shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from you!
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