Day 5 (8/19/2016)
Finally the days are getting easier. I woke up this morning around 8:30 and headed straight for the shower. I ate some breakfast and went for the door.
So, I went to Midtown, I went to Williamsburg, I live in Brooklyn, what else is there (more like what else isn't there)? Emily told me to go see all the main tourist attractions to help me at least become comfortable with the most known places around the city.
Central Park it was.
Getting there was easy, hop on the L line, ride it to Union Square, hop on the N line, and get off at 59th Street. I got out of the subways station and the first thing I saw was a line of horses and carriages. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm obsessed with animals, especially farm animals. These horses were HUGE. Their hooves were the size of my head, and their heads were half the size of my body.
After I finished petting all the horses I took a dive into Central Park;
I imagined that I'd forget I was in New York and it would look like one giant green patch from inside..... it's not like that at all! I liked it though. There's grass and trees and lakes and giant rocks and pigeons and roadways and bridges and bikers and buggies and runners and light signals and tourists. When in Central Park, you can still see the tops of all the buildings. It makes for an incredible view: lush grass, calm water, breezy trees, and modern day architecture. The mixture is beautiful.
For a while I was walking in a circle and thought "this park isn't as big as I thought it'd be." Incorrect! The park was much bigger than I thought it'd be, I had to grab a map to grasp the size of the park. Central park goes from 59th Street all the way to 110th Street. I'm pretty sure in an early blog entry I stated the street's incorrectly, but either way, it's huge. It took me about 2.5 hours to lollygag my way through, and I could have used another 2.5 hours.
Whilst being there I smelled food trucks of all sorts, saw turtles, heard all different languages, and felt the city move beneath my feet. Being able to sit at the top of a rock or in the middle of a field was amazing. I sat and watched the chaotic world go buy as I began to feel not as an outsider, but as a part of this chaotic city. I didn't have any plans today, I didn't have any goals or time limits, I just did. I just went to Central Park. I walked around the area and took some incredible pictures. Being able to confidently travel around the city and make decisions based solely on my preference is a very freeing feeling. Many people my age are tied down in relationships or stuck in the idea that 9-5 and college then marriage then babies is the only way to make it in life. But that's not true at all. When I was planted with the idea that traveling and writing could potentially be my livelihood, I was terrified.
I've been here for 5 days. It's only day 5, yet already I feel like a different person. I feel more true to myself. No more doing things for the applaud of other people. No more needing someone to accompany me wherever I go. No more accepting the negative judgement of any other being. I love New York and I'm beginning to become comfortable with the term "New Yorker", but I'm also excited for the rest of my life. Right now is great, and if I lived here my whole life I'd be just fine, but nobody wants to plateau. I plan to live in a multitude of different cities, states, and countries. And make a living the best way possible.