I WANT TO WAKE IN A CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS

            There are a number of things that come to mind when thinking of New York City. I think of the tall buildings, the crowds of people, the yellow taxis, the city that never sleeps, and the beautiful lights and views at night in Times Square. My dream since I was a child is to someday live in the city that never sleeps. The Big Apple has a number of surprises under its sleeve, and living there could never be tedious. I would love the experience of walking through the streets of New York while listening to the sounds of an instrument or even observing the artistic aspects the city provides and actually calling it my home. Although I live on Long Island, which is approximately 45 minutes from the city, I really never have the time of traveling to the city as much as I would like to. However, I consider myself privileged to live so close to a beautiful city like New York and would like to find time to be able to explore it more often. Many tourists desire to have the opportunity to come to a city like New York where many dreams come true, and living so close is a true blessing.

            One of my favorite things to do in the city is shopping, the every girls desire. The city has so much to offer when it comes to hopping, from the streets of Soho to 5th Avenue and 14th street,to Broadway. Soho has the greatest concentration of cast-iron architecture and one of its denser concentrations of shopping opportunities, with stores ranging from high-end boutiques to sidewalk carts (BG, 98). It’s amazing to see the crazy and unique styles of these designers on mannequins through the multiple store windows. New York City is one the top cities when it comes to the fashion industry and clothing. It runs amazing and interesting fashion shows demonstrating pieces of all the different designers.

           The architecture of the New York City buildings and bridges is incredible. I remember as a child walking through the streets of New York and feeling astonished as I looked up at all the amazing buildings of New York. New York's architecture, from the earliest Dutch days to the beginning of the 19th century, wore the unaffected look of a vernacular evolved in accord with the basic needs of rugged colonial life and before electricity or gaslight, the natural rhythms of the day (BG, 8). Manhattan has so much to offer, from the major tourist attractions like Statue of Liberty and its history behind it, Central Park, the Empire State Building, Times Square and the Twin Towers that we lost on September 11, 2001. Although the Twin Towers are no longer with us New Yorkers, they will always be in our hearts, and will never be able to forget since they are a part of our history. There are many other things like the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Holland Tunnel the city has to offer and I could endlessly name.

           New York City also provides a diversity of cultures which is absolutely amazing. You could find from China to Italy and Mexico, and all types of other cultures all in one city! While many of Manhattan's other ethnic enclaves are shrinking or gentrifying, Chinatown is expanding eastward beyond its original boundaries into the Lower East Side and northward into Little Italy (BG, 107). I love traveling, and being able to learn new aspects of different cultures apart from ours in this city is extremely interesting. You learn something new everywhere from the delicious foods and restaurants, to the variety of languages, and the different styles.

          New York City is a place many tourists desire to explore and suggest should be visited. This large city has so much to offer starting from the different cultures, to the amazing architecture, the wide variety of restaurants, incredible fashion industry, and many more. I believe there are still large parts of the city I haven’t yet explored and history I have not yet learned. However, I hope to expand my knowledge of the city with this class of the New York experience, and be able to also learn about Brooklyn and Queens other then Manhattan itself. I am excited to start this class in the fall and be able to take in everything it has to offer.