Why I Love New York So Much?

 

  I wasn't born in New York. It wasn't even the first city or state I visited outside of the city Karachi, where I was born. NY was the third place I visited after Amsterdam and London in 1995. I first came to New York in 1997, when I was about three years old. I don't remember anything from my first two visits to New York. It was in 2001 when I fell in love with New York. At the time I was only seven years old and during my visit here in New York, I was just doing a comparison between New York and the city of Karachi. First I thought the whole New York State was considered a city, and the city where I was living, Newburgh, was one of the towns of New York. Everything being so nice and clean, so big, all the big trees, and no sun burning down over my head, made me appreciate New York a lot. I started calling New York my home. According to my parents and my older siblings, I was just enjoying my moment in New York. They thought that when I'll get back to Karachi, I will brag to my cousins and friends about New York for a month or two, and then will start living in Karachi like I did before my third visit to NY. That didn't happen at all. When I got back to Karachi late in 2001, my head and heart were still left in NY. I kept thinking about all the cool places I visited here, especially Chucky Cheese and the arcade at Newburgh Mall (a side note: Newburgh Mall was actually cool in the early 2000s). After 2001, I made four more visits to New York, before I permanently moved here. My visit in 2008 actually confirmed my love for New York. In 2008, I realized that there was something in the air here in New York which convinced me to call it my home. After I landed at the JFK airport and stepped outside of the airport building, the cool air of NY went into my body from every direction. I absolutely had no words to describe how great it felt. The scent and coolness of the air just made me say, "Wow I'm so glad to be here again."

  New York is a place where a person could get and do anything. Let me start off with this, New York is huge. In New York, a person could get anything he or she desires. NY has one of the best skylines in the world, if not the best. There are some nice and beautiful long roads throughout the state. It has epic tunnels, such as Lincoln Tunnel and Holland Tunnel. New York has old but solid historic train tracks. It has eye-popping bridges like George Washington Bridge, Whitestone Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, and so many more. There are beaches here like Fort Tilden Beach, Jones Beach, Jacob Rills Park Beach, and others. There are also rivers, lakes, mountains, forests, and farmlands. New York does actually go through all four seasons of the year. It isn't always hot or always cold throughout the year. It rains here, it snows here, it gets hot, it gets cold, flowers and leaves do come and go, and the sun shines here without burning a person's skin. Oh, there is Niagara Falls in Buffalo, which is located between New York of the United States and Ontario of Canada. Sadly, I haven't visited the amazing Niagra Falls yet. In NYC, there is so much to do and so much to see. You have Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Central Park, Chinatown, Little Italy, Rockefeller Center, Wall Street and all of the Financial District area in Lower Manhattan, PlayStation Theatre, and finally, you have Times Square where you have the lights and screens all shining on you, and where something new is always happening. NYC also has all the luxurious hotels, expensive and cheap restaurants of all cultures, and stylish apartments to live in.

 

What I like the most about New York City is that it motivates us to get up and do something. NYC motivates us to do something huge. Something that was never done before. Something that is going to be a trendsetter. Something that never gets old. The Empire State Building is a very good example here. When Empire State Building was built, it was the tallest skyscraper in the world. It stood as the tallest skyscraper in the world for nearly four decades, as it was the tallest building in the world for 39 years. Since then several skyscrapers, bigger than Empire State Building have been built and stood as the tallest buildings for at max eight to ten years. Yes, there are much taller and impressive buildings in the world than Empire State, but even to this date, it still looks impressive. I look at it at least three to five times whenever I visit the city. Looking at Empire State makes me think of the time when it was under construction in the early 1920s, and how people back then looked at it.

  Experiencing NYC the first time was certainly like a dream come true for me, but it seems new, different, and amazing from the inside whenever I get to go there from upstate New York, where I have been living for the past seven years. Since I moved to upstate New York from Karachi Pakistan, I have been to the city at least fifty times. Each time I get to see something new and epic in the city. My heart melts every time I get to the city via train or bus. One day I wanna live in NYC and have a professional job there. That has been my dream since I turned fourteen years old. It was my destiny to be here in New York!

The path to NY!

  In 2008, I came here with my dad for only a month. Normally when I come to New York with my family, I get to stay for at least two months. The reason we stayed for only a month was
because we came to New York the first week of July and my school would start in the first week of August. I was upset from the very first day, knowing that this trip to NY wasn't going to be as long as my trips from the past years. However, this trip in the summer of 2008, ended up being my best trips of all time. It was in this trip in which I got to hang in New York City for one full day and got to witness so many great things about it. Yes, I had visited NYC before 2008, but that was before 2001. I don't remember anything about visiting New York City before the age of seven. Going to the city from upstate NY was surely amazing. Passing by George Washinton Bridge and Whitestone Bridge helped me witness a great view of New York City's skyline. My jaws definitely dropped as I first got to see the skyline. I said to myself, "How did they get to make so many big buildings so beautiful and so close to one another?" Walking on Broadway, at Times Square, by Madison Square Garden, Pen Plaza Building, Empire State Building, Radio City, and so many other places was my greatest first-time experience. Seeing Madison Square Garden from the outside took my heart away. Then came the day when I had to go back to Pakistan. Being in the city and seeing the real New York, made me love New York even more. I started dreaming about living in NY. Living in a house with my family, make new friends, and start a new life.

  After the summer of 2008 and after I got back to Karachi from New York, everyone in my family circle noticed that I wasn't myself. They saw the sadness on my face. First I didn't tell them what exactly I was feeling and told them that everything was just fine. Then about six to seven months later, I asked my dad if we could permanently move to NY. He responded that it is going to be tough and asked me why I wanted the family to move to NY. I told him I wanna live the New York lifestyle and I think it would be a good move for us overall. A good move as in financially and us having a better secure future. Dad heard me and said, "We'll see." I knew he had no intentions of thinking too much about us moving to New York. So I kept asking him, again and again, every day if he thought about moving to New York and living there. He kept ignoring me, until one day he got really upset with me and told me with a straight face that we won't be moving to New York. I asked him to explain why can't we. Dad did give me an explanation while yelling super loud. He said, "We can't move to New York because we won't be able to survive it." He continued, "New York might seem fun and all, but it is super expensive. You have to pay for everything. New York tax you for every little thing". I continued arguing with him and asked why his two brothers or my uncles are living in New York for the past twenty years and doing so well financially? He answered me well by saying, that they went to New York in the late 80s and the early 90s when they were in their twenties. I didn't like his answer at the time and walked away from it. I tried not to talk to my dad for days before he came to me and said that he loves me more than anything in this world. He told me that he will do anything to make me happy because I'm his strength and his life. Before I said anything to him, I hugged him real hard, and then asked if we are going to New York? Dad looked at me with a smile, nodded, and said I will be continuing my education there. I felt so great when I heard him say what I wanted to hear, and then I promised him that I would never disappoint him in my entire life.

  So in the summer of 2009, dad and I came back to New York but this time with the intention of living there permanently. We started our paperwork to get 'work-permit-visa' and 'green-card' eventually so then we'll be able to live in NY legally. Due to financial issues and visit visa expiring, we had to go back to Karachi in September of 2009. I had to live and continued my education in Karachi for another year. I was once again upset but wasn't devasted because I knew we will come back to NY and then live here for good. My dream came true in late November of 2010, as I got to come back to NY with my dad and with mom. My mother coming along with me and dad confirmed me that we are definitely staying here. Then late December, I started going to high school. I was supposed to continue my schooling here as an eleventh-grade student as I finished tenth grade in Karachi. However, due to not taking some health and science classes at my school in Karachi, I didn't have enough credits to graduate from high school in two years. So I had to go back to tenth grade to start my high school here in NY. I did find, being a tenth-grade student again annoying, but I wasn't angry. Why? Because I was thrilled to be in an American/New York high school. I thought to myself, "Wow this is really happening?"I got to hang in hallways, by students' lockers, by the gym area, and I got to attend classes with American kids in the classrooms I used to see in shows and movies while I was in Karachi. Newburgh Free Academy, the high school I went to, was absolutely fun in my first one and a half year, but then it turned to be boring. Classes weren't fun and assignments were so easy that I didn't feel like doing them. I was anxiously waiting for my college life to start. 

 I graduated from high school in June 2013 and was ready to start my first semester at college in August 2013. Life in college was so much better than the life in high school. People at college are mature, disciplined, know their limits, and have a fun side too. Plus, ninety percent of the students in college are determined to do good with their classes and get good grades, so then they could get the jobs that they desire or the ones which are somewhat close to their department of study. First two years, I went to Dutchess Community College for my associate's degree and then I went to the State University of New York at New Paltz for my bachelor's degree in International Business. I had a great time in both of those colleges. I got to meet several cool kids of my age and some people way older than me. Students with whom I took classes at Dutchess and New Paltz for four years, weren't just New Yorkers or Americans. Some of the students in my classes were Turkish, some were Italian, some were Chinese, some came from Nigeria, some came from the Middle-East, some came from Australia, and some came from many different parts of the world of that I had never heard of. Those students with different ethnicities and cultures helped me broaden my mind and see things a lot differently than I did before. I got to learn a little about their culture, their language, history, their city life, religion, and so much more. Being around them helped me understand that you can't talk or treat people from different places of the world the same way as I talk to my American peers or people from my country. My four years at college here in New York were easily the most important part of my life, as my time in college turned me into a person that I am today. From thinking what I do and believe is the only right thing to do, I became a person who was willing to listen to other people's perspectives and learn from it. Not saying I couldn't have learned a thing or two in one of the colleges or universities in Karachi or any other city in Pakistan, but I'm pretty sure I would not have learned so much good and bad from so many people from different parts of the world. It was a year ago in May of 2017 when I graduated with my bachelor's degree at New Paltz, and since then, I haven't gotten the job position associated with my major in International Business. I am going through the tough process of a job search right now. However, I'm not upset and mad at myself for not being able to get the job right after I graduated from New Paltz. First of all, I'm only twenty-three years old. Secondly, I think I got some extra time as an opportunity to discover myself, go over some of the topics I learned at college, and be better prepared for the job that I am going to get soon in my young life. Finally, I have learned here in New York, especially during my time at college, nothing is given to a person. One needs to keep trying and earn it.

New York is my home and will always be.

  To say that I am being full of myself and ignorant to even think that New York is my home and not Karachi is actually a stupid statement to make. Yes, I was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and that's where I lived for the first sixteen years of my life. So far, I have only lived seven of my twenty-three years here in New York, but I did so much more in my seven years here, then I did in my first sixteen years in Karachi. Obviously, when I was in Karachi, Pakistan, I was only a child and depended heavily on my parents and siblings. Let me list all that I have accomplished, learned, and got to do for the first time since I made it to New York.

- I finished my high school here.
- I went to college here.
- I graduated with a bachelor's degree in International Business.
- I did my very first job here in a company called Zafar Produce.
- I got to do my very first internship here at CocaCola (a fortune five-hundred company).
- I did a community service at Newburgh Free Library.
- I got my driver's license here.
- I have a car of my own to drive.
- I started driving and traveling on my own here.
- I got my very first guitar on my seventeenth birthday in 2011.
- I opened up my own personal bank account in 2016.
- I learned how to write checks.
- I got my very first debit card with my name on it.
- I was introduced to NFL & NBA, which inspired me to watch sports' shows on Fox & ESPN.
- Those sports' shows inspired me to read sports' articles to learn about my teams and others.
- Reading articles inspired me to write blogs.
- I learned a third language, French, here at college.
(I'm not fluent, but intermediate in French).
- I learned how to write a resume.
- I learned how to write a cover letter.
- I learned how to use Microsoft Word.
- I learned how to use Microsoft Excel.
- I learned how to use Microsoft PowerPoint.
- I learned how to use Google Docs.
- I learned how to do citations.
- I got to grow my hair.
- I assisted my dad in buying our very first house here in New York.
(I didn't pay half or even a quarter amount of the house, but I did pay $2000 from my account, which at the time, was half of the amount I had as my balance in my bank account).
- Oh, I had my first cup of coffee here.
- Most importantly, I made a real friend here in Paul Mandia.

  I have had many friends in Karachi too, but none of my friends stayed friends with me for a good long period of time. I have been friends with Paul Mandia for four years now. I met him in January of 2014, during our second semester at college. I am not his best friend because he met me way after he became best friends with someone else. However, I do know for sure, that I am a very important person to him. Paul and I have argued on many stupid things, mostly it was me who started all those arguments, but we always got to move past all of our arguments so far. Paul and I have gone to several movies in the past four years, we went to the city last year, we hooked a lot at McDonald's and at college, and we talk about almost everything. We have discussed things like music, culture, religion, art, games, food, clothing, girls, secrets, New York, and my love for Tom Brady. By the way, even though Paul was born here, he once told me that the city seems to amaze him each time he goes there! I have learned a lot from my conversations with Paul. If it wasn't for him, I might have been struggling here in New York. Then again, I was destined to come here and meet Paul.

 

  Could I have done all the things that I mentioned on my list, in Karachi? Absolutely! I could have done those things anywhere in the world. However, that is not the point. The point is that even though I could have learned, accomplished, and done these things anywhere in the world, I ended up doing everything here in New York. I did all the good and very important things of my life here in New York. I learned more here in NY than I did in Pakistan. My growth and maturity took place here from 2010- present. I still have flaws in myself, and still, have a lot to learn. By any means, I am not a finished product yet. Always wanted to be here in New York. Live at or close to the city. I desired to come here and I made it here. Now my goal is to get a great job in New York City, and I don't think I'm too far from it. I do have an interview coming up, with a company located in the city called 'Unpakt,' and it is going to take place this Tuesday on March the 13th of 2018. The position is for Customer Service Associate in the operations department. Hopefully, I will get this job.

  So is New York the only place where I could live?

  I love New York with my heart and soul, but that does not mean that I will not live somewhere else. If I can't get the job I'm looking for, or end up finding a much better opportunity outside of NY, then I will definitely move out. My plan is to find the best job in the world here in NY, live here for the rest of my life, and occasionally take trips to foreign places for vacations. If that doesn't happen, then yes I will have to look outside of New York for jobs and a living. Going back to Karachi could be a possibility too. If there is something really good available for me, then sure I'll consider it and take that opportunity to the bank. I do like traveling and exploring places too. I would be fine if I had to go to a new country or a new city to start my professional life.

  In my heart of hearts, I know I will find something here in New York. I asked God to bring me here, and he did just two years after I wished it. I feel great here. The air here in New York is just so perfect. Besides that, I love the weather here. I love cold weather. Not too cold, but anywhere from forty degrees to seventy degrees. Those of you wondering that seventy degrees isn't cold, think about the weather I lived in Karachi for the first sixteen years of my life. The temperature rarely drops to seventy degrees in Karachi, even in the winter. The best way to put it, I love cool winds blowing on my face. Here in New York, I have learned a lot. Did so many new things. Met so many new people from all around the world. Went to so many new places by myself. All the things I did and happened to me here, just makes me appreciate New York more than I ever did before. I will always be a New Yorker, and I will make New York better than it already is!