As my ribs puncture my organs, heart races to jump out of my body, sweat runs down from my forehead to my chin and legs feel as weak as the twigs I was jumping on 3 blocks ago, I look back to my mom telling me to walk a tad bit faster to catch up with my dad’s speed as we head to his newly found destination for us to explore and experience. Although it took 2 times for me to rest and catch my breath, I finally manage to cling onto my dad’s hand as he keeps on walking through the stampede of people rushing opposite our way. Crossing the street to the shade provided by the big purple flag waving outside the building which spells out “NYU” I ask my dad to stop walking because I need water. As we stop he tells me to look back at my mom and 2 sisters who are playing catch up themselves, that they probably got lost in the crowd of people we just walked by. As he  finished saying that, my mom interrupts and asks how much longer till we get to the stores. “ dos bloques mas.” He said in Spanish. I take a peak of our destination and from my height, all I see is a big building with blue iron casts coming out as if someone were to tear down a billboard and leave the street empty without a flashy advertisement that could’ve easily caught the attention of any driver and pedestrian.  Enjoying the views as much as I can even with the harsh tasks to even get to the Hollister. I took in every moment in as going to Manhattan was a once in a blue moon family day trip with my dad being off on Sunday’s.

Walking past Broadway today and looking at the vacant Hollister that once filled me with so much energy as it had a different vibe to the shopping experience. With low dimmed lights and certain bright flashy blinding areas where you look up and see a fake layout of a beach house and hear the waves from the ocean with that distinct strong soothing iconic Hollister smell, really gave me the will to keep on with trying to play catch up with my dad on the rest of the trips with him.

Sadly, those days being spent with my dad and family exploring the city and almost catching an asthma attack from walking with him are long gone as his favorite hobby of exploring the city became more of my thing now that both my parents work and use their days off to recover from the lengthy hours of labor in bed.

With the same ironic knowledge of New York as tourist, exploring the city started with just exploring the city with a well knowledgeable family member, besides my dad, my cousin. With her always going to Manhattan with her soccer team, she always took me to experience the places she loved and helped with introducing me with the key coffee and drink chain, Starbucks. Thankfully, her ways of getting me out the house even after my mom said no multiple times to me hours ago paid off now that since 10^th grade, I would have a newly found friendship, partnership, love- hate relationship I should say, with google maps originated from. Being more than a tool for me to get to school, google maps paved the love I have for exploring the city and always wanting to experience everything the city has to offer. Although some may be corny, outdated and plain out “not a new yorker, if you do this,” I want to experience ALL that the island alone has to offer.

Navigating my way from different places and recognizing the streets and blocks from the day trips my family used to take, I had already been familiar to most of Manhattan and some parts of the other boroughs, especially the Bronx, being that I live here and spent my whole life here. With naturally knowing the streets and the ways to get from 14^th street to Hollister or even the World trade center easily, without getting lost, my boyfriend and our friends always come to me to make plans to hang out in the city. With wanting to experience everything from the city, I grew to realize that I barely even know the city, I haven’t even experienced the city as much because there is way of more restaurants in Little Italy than I could even try out in a single month.

That saying “if you’ve been to the Empire state, statue of liberty, or times square, you’re not from new York.” Is a saying only people who are always stuck at home with no plans or knowledge of New York say. Like who wouldn’t want to see the view of the city from that high of the empire state? It’s a whole new perspective and is definitely a breathtaking view when you see the streets, buildings and even sunset if you’re lucky in a new, special, and probably a romantic way. Let’s not even get started with the Statue of Liberty, a cute ferry ride away, where you stand in front of iconic history, literal iconic history and people dare to say it’s not a New York thing? Maybe it’s the people who are used to the rats, mice, racoons, roaches, beggars targeting for their next cigarette that don’t see the beauty within their urban jungle and chose to change the way they themselves see their city. I don’t know about them but, being open to see and live through every part of New York, getting familiar and becoming an expert in different stores, restaurants, take- out places, cute trendy coffee shops is what New York can be. Zadie Smith’s work beautifully introduced me to a new motto and saying when it comes to describing New York and how we’re all bonded as a city and not know each other at all. How there are different aspects of the city that not everyone is familiar with and probably won’t ever experience it which is perfectly fine because that’s not their New York. “We are a multiplicity of Humans in an elastic social arrangement that can be stretched in many directions”[1] in other words, we are a group of people put into a category in which means nothing because of how many definitions, connotations and feelings it might bring up to every individual because not everything that occurs to us is the exact same thing. The Empire State might just be some ugly old building that someone walks by everyday or even works in. To somebody else it might be the world’s most beautiful skyscraper and they just wish to be able to see it everyday.

My first time even being on the same street as the Empire was definitely a time I won’t forget. Finally being close enough to see the building that has gorgeous light shows at night, I didn’t want to stop breaking my neck and almost getting trampled down by strangers. To this day I haven’t even been to the top of the empire and unlike the negative and uncultured natives, I am dying to be able to see the city from a whole new altitude. After my social studies classes and many different subjects I slowly started to learn more about different attractions, and with having more knowledge that the attraction is at least 45 minutes away, you want to get to see it in person and know how it feels to be there. Thankfully by the time my will and determination of being able to experience every part of New York, popular, boring or not, the curfews and the asking stopped. With the independence, came the bravery of trusting google maps to take me literally anywhere, (even though it some times fails me) memorizing what Starbucks is at the end of 86^th and Lexington and how near is the next one became something that naturally followed through.

“in retrospect it seems to me that those days before I knew the names of all the bridges were happier than the ones that came later.”[2] Joan Didion’s comment really stuck with for all the right reasons. Before I even learned that there are 21 bridges in Manhattan alone, my memory failed to remember or even feel like I was conscious at all. With going to new places or the same places every month, you tend to memorize what street can take you to the entrance of the Lincoln or what subway takes you near it. Just a few months ago I became aware that there are at least 2 bridges that take you to NJ and how a ferry can take you from 34^th street to long island city in just 6 minutes. I thank every social media platform that exposes me to the places to explore and constantly feeds to the drive I have to always want to go out and see what the city has to offer. Even if its the little simple things, like walking from 225^th to battery park. I want to be able to tell people I walked the whole Manhattan Island from the Bronx. Just  a few weeks ago I had my boyfriend’s ribs hurting and him struggling  to keep up with me as I took him to SoHo with no intentions of experiencing something new being that I have walked these blocks almost every 3 months 5 years ago. I never even knew how close Little Italy was to SoHo. From that day, I knew that my idea of wanting to leave the city to feel and live in a new environment would have to wait until I walked every block on Manhattan at least.

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