New York City has been my home since the day I was born. I am a Brooklyn resident, born and raised. I say born and raised because apart from being born in Brooklyn and living here my whole life, it is such a big borough and every neighborhood you enter feels so unique as if you were in a different borough. I am proud to be a New Yorker, somehow it always makes me feel cooler or more open-minded than others who do not live in New York City. Once I visited my family in Mexico and other parts of the U.S, they called me “the cousin from New York” and got very excited when they saw me, for some reason they label me as “cool”. What they don’t know is that in New York City, things are a little different than what they think. Yes, they do hear things about New York, such as how there are better-paying jobs, lots of fashion, parties, and nightclubs; what they don’t know is that New York City is also one of the toughest cities to live in, especially as a minority.

I am half Ecuadorian and half Mexican, both of my parents are immigrants, and I have the “blessing” as they call it, to be born in the U.S specifically in New York City, a city of opportunity. Before my parents immigrated to the U.S they both had a different perception of what New York was going to be like. Seeing pictures of the skyscrapers and its attractions made it seem as if that was what New York City was all about and that that was what New Yorkers spent their time at. This perspective that individuals have of New York City is very much related to what Joan Didon in Goodbye to All That was speaking about. How New York is just an abstract to us New Yorkers, that these places such as Radio City, Wall Street, etc. were all just places that New Yorkers know about but where tourists spend their days at. What my parents didn’t know about New York City once living here is that it has five boroughs, 8-10 hour shifts, small apartments, and paying expensive rent every month. Both of my parents struggled a lot in all aspects (language, financially, culturally, etc) in the states. Growing up I have always heard them talk about their countries and how different they grew up from me. They spoke about their culture, a major difference. In specifically Latin American Countries, people seemed to be closer to their neighbors and have the ability to easily trust them. In New York City, it seemed very hard to create any type of relationship with your neighbor or anyone who isn’t your family. Another difference was finance, in Latin American countries financial stability is very difficult especially with large families, and in New York, there is more financial stability with the income that is received (even though many things are awfully expensive such as rent). Even though growing up seeing my parents struggle with these hardships, they somehow always pushed forward and always found a better job to be more comfortable with their hours and expenses. We aren’t rich or wealthy, we didn’t inherit any money from our families, my parents did not have a career, they were laborers. Even though we are not any of those things, we were always comfortable, we have a place we call home (our tiny apartment), space where we would make ours and make memories and we were thankful for it. I always had everything I needed, even had everything I ever wanted. My parents never made it feel as if things were impossible in New York, instead, they showed me that in New York everything was possible if you work hard for it. I have always had this image of New York being the city of opportunities where I was able to grow and be whatever I want or everything I want to be.

The city has many options. So many you would not know what to choose or what you would want to be. As a first generation young adult in New York City, it is difficult to network your way in a big city with different kinds of people. It can be scary or exciting, I feel like it always depends on the type of person you are. Many first generation adolescents seem to be embarrassed to get out of their bubble and try something new or even explaining where their family comes from, Me? I am the opposite. I embrace my background and my culture (whatever it may be, since I have a mixture of three different cultures), I’m daring, I love to try and learn new things. I feel like that is very important especially in a city that offers a lot to those who seek what they want or need. For people like me, first generation students it is hard to know where in society you belong, especially when humans love to put a label to everything. Many first generation students have a mixed background due to having parents from different countries, you grow up with a New York culture and the culture from your parent’s country . There is a big mixture there and you would not know what to call it, sometimes I question myself, What do I say when someone asks me Where are you from? This question can mean so many things, like ethnicity, nationality, the city you are from, or even the borough. I guess that is part of being in a melting pot, and a New Yorker.

New York City has a mixture of every culture, “no wonder it is called the melting pot”, I said when I first learned the term. This is the reason why I am in love with the city, I can be whoever I want to be or whoever the world made me be, and there will always be people who can relate to me as well as I can to them. This idea definitely makes me feel free, free from whatever expectations I have to carry from my immigrant parents, free from whatever anyone wants me to live up to. The city gives you that escape and I appreciated it, I appreciate it giving space for everyone who comes to New York City, that is what the city can promise. What it can not promise is the way you will be treated, yes there are some negative aspects of New York City. New York City is known to be The City that never sleeps and it is mainly because there is always something happening, there is always a movement from people. The city is known for its never stopping pace. I have noticed how people do not care about you unless you can benefit them in some way. That goes for any type of friendship you have with anyone in New York City. People seem to be in their own bubble. Always focused on their plans. They do not care who walks by them, what you have to say to them, nor if you are in need of help. Many times on the subway I have noticed how people ignore incidents very often. One day while I was on my phone waiting for the train, I saw an argument happening in my cart. This was between two grown women, one of them disrespecting the other woman’s child, and of course like any mother she defended her child. There was yelling, chasing, and hitting between the two women. Even though there were plenty of people in the cart, no one tried to stop or break up the fight between them, people preferred watching two women hurt themselves, all because as New Yorkers we should “mind our business”. This is not the only problem we have when we live with this norm of “minding our business”. So much social injustice exists and when we have these conflicts no one steps in. My parents have both encountered racism at their jobs, in my father’s case he had physical fights with people and when he told me this story, he also mentioned how no one bothered to step in and help solve the conflict and settle differently. People seem to not care and continue walking to the place they need to get to, they get on with their pace and their routine. This is a major issue that should stop in New York City but after all, it is the rudest city in the world, because I have no hope that these issues would be fixed. In a city where money drives people, people are no longer caring for one another, instead, they prefer having people get out of their way to keep them from succeeding.

The city has been good to me, despite the cons it has. I have been able to experiment and be a part of a city so powerful, and so known across the world. But I do think at some point I will leave. Sometimes feel when you outgrow your environment and you feel like you have to move in order to keep growing in the right environment. New York City has the best environment for young adults. People who are new to adulthood are trying to figure out what they want from life, students who want to enter into the best schools in New York and finish their studies here, to workers who want to make more money to support their families, and more. At some point, these tasks will be complete, then what? Personally, I feel like New York City is a phase, a phase where you spent some of your best years figuring out who you are as a person, who you want to be, and work on your future. Once that is sorted for me, I feel like that is when I close a chapter in my life. Life in New York City right now simply looks like an apartment, monthly rent, monthly bills, and work. These are a list of things I do not want to spend the rest of my life doing. I would like to have peace when I grow up and tranquility. Once I graduate from grad school, I would like to move to another state that is calmer and buy myself a house, for myself and my future generations. I would like to be able to have more than just a little apartment in Brooklyn, I want my own property under my name. I definitely wish I could stay in the city and live my best life, with my career, and my family. Sometimes it is better to move to an environment that suits your lifestyle. New York City has a specific lifestyle, a unique lifestyle that can be exhausting at some point. I do not want to get exhausted in New York City. I do not think I ever will, but at some point, my phase here will be done and I will make the decision to leave and make of my life elsewhere. A place where I can continue to grow as a person, but the credit of the great person I will become will always go to The City that never sleeps.