A country of freedom, city of the Statue of Liberty — welcome to New York City. Old historic buildings, museums, the subway … New York City is a summary of American history on its own. However, it is not only historical monuments that attract people’s eyes.
It is the energy from the people who live in New York. The finance in Wall Street, broadway, broadcast stations, banks, firms — New York attracts the most powerful individuals in America and they make it a city full of energy.
However, when I think about New York, or reminiscence about my experiences there, it is neither the powerful people nor the monuments that first comes into my mind. I think about the old apartments with fire escapes where aspiring artists created art in the past, old and smelly subway stations that transported more than a billion of people, and the people who actually make up New York City. Its mundane life — that is what actually occupies NYC, runs NYC, and makes NYC. And that is what I picture about this Gotham city.
Small apartments and the unexplainable price for rent reminds me of my home city, Seoul, which is also packed with people, bad traffic, small apartments but still is my home. Every time I walk down the small streets of New York, surrounded by apartment forest, it feels like I’m going back home: wandering a late night street in Seoul, a bit drunk, a bit nostalgic.
New York City is beautiful during the daylight, but the true beauty of the city comes out during the night time. Countless neon signs and lights cover the sky, never allowing a clear night, but they also create a perpetually bright city. The night life is full of jazz bars, late night shows, theatres, and concerts.
Of course there is no such thing as a perfect city. NYC, like any other major American cities, has problems of shooting, rush hour traffic, and other issues beneath the surface. However, NYC will still be the most representative city on the East Coast for me because it has both a beautiful side and dark side of America’s past, present, and future.
