What NYC Taught Me

This and a photo of Times Square are my only well-taken touristy photos. I was literally the worst photographer of my New York trip, but to be honest my favourite photo is one that was taken in a photobooth at One Bar on a Wednesday night. There’s six of us smushed together in various states of fancy dress and the faces we’ve pulled are ridiculous, which makes it even better, because most of that night was spent laughing and enjoying hanging out with cool people.

I would recommend New York’s ice cream. But not it’s bread. And yes, I am wearing three different shades of green at once.

I would also recommend going there by yourself. Solo travel was fun and helped me stretch myself into being a friendlier person. Little things like walking into a room and saying hello to whoever’s there or being brave and asking to join a group or a trip out are not things I would naturally want to do, but I made myself do them and made some friends. Go me!

When I landed in New York City I felt at home within minutes because there is literally every nationality of the world in one place. You can’t look at someone and tell that they aren’t from here — everybody looks different and like a local. Even I was asked if I knew were places were by other travellers (and sometimes I pointed them in a random direction for fun). This was a good eye-opener for me, as in New Zealand I have been 100% guilty of seeing someone who’s not Pākehā (a white New Zealander) and automatically assuming they’re “foreign”. But this is a racist attitude and not one I want to carry on having, because skin colour or appearance isn’t a measure of citizenship, it is a marker of ancestry and your families story. And we all have a basic need to belong somewhere, to be a part of something that shares our values, and New York City is one of those places where anyone could find a home, no matter who they are and where they’ve been.