I've been home for almost two weeks now and not much has changed. There is still work to be done: essays to write and applications to fill out. Yet everything feels really different. Maybe it's because of the warm weather or sophomore year finally coming to an end, I'm not entirely sure, but I'm starting to feel like myself again.
On Wednesday, I hung out with my friend Angela. We rode the train all the way to the West 4th street station in Manhattan to get some pho (I'm including a map so you guys can see how much we walked). I've never had pho before but if you know me, you know I like noodles. Unsurprisingly, this factor alone made my first pho experience a positive one.
Then, we made our way to an artsy little coffee shop on 1st Avenue called SPACE194, stopping at a thrift store along the way. Angela is the type of person that knows how to get anywhere in the city without a map. I've always admired people with this ability and without them I'd be completely lost.
After that, we walked with the intention of going to SOHO but got distracted so many times that we never actually made it. One place that we ended up instead was a pop-up design exhibit filled with art furniture. Spots like this remind me of how unique the city is. Forever changing and always moving, I try to keep up with it.
At the end of the day, Angela and I decided to walk The High Line (I swear that thing is like something out of Harry Potter. It has so many hidden paths!). We looked at the new artwork and continued to catch up on how our lives have been since the last time we met. I guess the thing that surprised me the most about that day was how small it made me feel. Not in a sad way but in a refreshing way. Lately, I think I've gotten used to everything feeling so high stakes that I just accepted it as how things are. I got so used to trying to utilize every second of every day that I sorta forgot that there was any other way to be.
As I was making the map of the all the places we went that day I thought about how silly it must look to an outsider. We didn't go anywhere in the most efficient way, we didn't always reach our destination, we didn't have a plan, and sometimes we went back and forth only to go back again. And yet, despite all of that, it was still a really good day. It was exactly what I wanted it to be–slow walking in a fast-paced city with the option to not be fast-paced with it.
Okay, I think that's all I got for now! OH also I heard New York is getting rid of MetroCards-eek.
@nrosemond8 I can't figure out how to reply to comments but yes they are putting this system in place called OMNY. Basically, it allows people to use credit cards and debit cards to pay for their subway fair...which is good cause it makes less waste but idk I'm not really a fan of the change. I also haven't used it yet so maybe I can't say that. But anyways, there are pros and cons of the new system like if you're just visiting NYC for a day you don't have to pay that extra dollar for a metrocard that is useless once you leave the city but then again the metrocard is so embedded in the culture of NYC!
Me and Caitlin were talking about the OMNY card thing after reading this post bc I didn't know it was happening. I have ...such mixed feelings about it. Maybe that's just me being resistant to everything/anything being different tho :-) also love the map so much