On What NYC Means To Me
January 24, 2012 Associates Program
New York City means always saying “Yes”
It means always being ready to go to a last minute concert. It means having a costume box for electric zoo, SantaCon, Halloween, 4th of July, or whatever new cause you decide to support. It means staying out till 6am. Eating street meat just because you are curious. Chasing coffee with redbull. Peeling your lifeless body out of bed on a Sunday to go to the MoMa and braving your first poetry slam at an underground speakeasy. This city is a place where there is no need to wait for next week to try something new, to meet someone from any country, to find new voices to listen to and familiar ones to listen to again.
New York City means accepting impermanence.
It means having those neighborhood spots you love disappear forever. It means learning a new route to work. It means couples breaking up. Friends that move back home. Friends you never thought you’d meet. This city will overwhelm you with an image, a day, a beauty so surprising that you will shake your head in disbelief. Living here means accepting that change of perspective can happen just as quickly as the change of scene.
New York City means being able to laugh at yourself
It means accidentally taking the subway to Brooklyn more times than you’d like to admit. It means overreacting when you see a large rat on a poorly lit street or realizing too late that you wore the wrong colored socks to work. It means wearing winter coats in your living room to reduce your heating bill. Pretending to consider your wine options when you undoubtedly will pick the cheapest one on the menu. Watching your roommate’s shirt catch on fire as she teaches you how to sauté chicken. Living here means learning to laugh when a drunk man randomly yells at you on the street.
New York City means embracing the unknown
The goal here is to embrace the uncomfortable, to observe how you react to new experiences, and to learn from the fear of something threatening or difficult. Try to earn the appreciation of an honest critic, and endure the betrayal of false friends. Love someone you never thought you’d be with. Find beauty in imperfection, and opportunity from mistakes. Cry when you feel like crying. Eat Indian food, listen to dubstep, read the New Yorker, cut the line at a club, buy hipster glasses, drink on the subway, and help someone you don’t know. Explore the inner, undiscovered worlds.
Living in New York means stepping out of my comfort zone and into new opportunities.
What does New York City mean to you? Let us know on Twitter @ogilvycraftsmen.
