Personal Narrative Essay: Moving To New York City

I find myself looking over my shoulder every time I step outside my front door. Violence has opened my eyes and destroyed my dreams of peace. When I first moved to Philadelphia from Puerto Rico, I moved into a neighborhood that was full of gangs and drugs. Philadelphia represented a new start, a chance for me to breathe again. I had experienced a tragic shooting right before my ten year old eyes in Puerto Rico; my mom’s best friend was killed, while the murderer calmly walked away. We escaped to Philadelphia, and I thought my days of witnessing horrific violence were over. However, my dreams were shattered like gunshots in the night. One day, while I was napping, I was awoken by a series of deafening pops. As soon as I heard them, I dropped

New York is a place with a diversity and plenty of room to grow in any direction you choose. New York City is a place of many opportunities. It gives me a feeling that I can accomplish anything I set out to do.

As of now, I’ve moved six times, however the most memorable place was Chicago. Moreover, the reason why my family and I moved from Boston to Chicago was due to my dad’s promotion along with the surrounding schools. Before moving to Chicago, we used to live in Boston and the environment of both places are completely divergent in terms of the personality of people and how. Likewise, given a short notice, it took awhile to adapt to the environment because the decision of moving happened suddenly.

Sitting in the cab, on the way from JFK, I caught my first glimpse of Manhattan. I had been calm the entire flight, in fact, I had been excited to come to New York. But sitting alone in that yellow cab made me think of everything that could go wrong in my first year. I imagined myself as a friendless failure, someone who just sat in his room all day, too afraid to embrace the city outside. But it never happened. And in less than a year, New York become like a second home. I began to feel utterly comfortable wandering its streets in the middle of the night, desperately searching for an ice-cream shop that was still open. I felt like I belonged. And so, when I returned this fall, there was no sense of apprehension at all – I felt completely normal.

“ Sure mom,” I answer. I came down the step with my heart beating like crazy. I reached the last step,I took a deep breath and I walked into the living room where my Mother and Father was there waiting.

For several years, my job required that I travel to New York City once a month. My perception of the people living in the city after a few trips was that they were extremely rude. Over time, however, I learned that this was not a fair assessment on my part.

It has been over a week since I found out about the little thing that is growing inside me. I’ve been a wreck all week long. When I got home last Sunday, I just told Keith that it was a stomach bug. I think he has noticed that I have not got better yet. I knew he would eventually get curious, just not that fast. He came up to me this morning, and I bursted into tears. So, I finally told him… and he had a completely different response. When I first told him, I kept babbling on, and on. I told him that we did not have to keep it if he did not want it. I told him that if I decided to keep it, that I would just move home to New York. All those things actually made him mad. He asked me how I could ever want to give our miracle away. He said that

Famous musicians such as; Jay-Z, Bruce Springsteen, Tito Puente, and John Lennon have written songs about it. It’s the setting for hundreds of amazing movies including; The Avengers, The Men in Black, The Godfather, and the Wolf of Wall Street. New York City, my hometown, the greatest city on Earth. There are plenty of things to do in this city. You can watch a play on Broadway, take a walk through Central Park, or visit the Statue of Liberty, but you rarely hear about my favorite part of this city, and that’s the food. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a place with a larger selection or with more delicious food.

Outside of academics, we had different much personalities. Diego was more outgoing and want to explore New York City and make the most out of his time there, while I was more reserved and was content with spending my weekends relaxing in my dorm. He told me that he used to walk around Mexico City and experience what it had to offer. He came in with this same mindset for New York City and always looked for something new to try every weekend. I usually joined him, and along the way we found a few places that became our go-to if we ever wanted to travel outside of the Financial District such as Los Tacos No. 1 in Chelsea Market and Crif Dogs in East Village.

People seem to think that new york city is spectacular and magical, but thats not how i see it. Thats becauswe ive lived here all my life. Over these thirteen years, I’ve come to notice all the not-so-enchanting aspects of the city.

It was only a matter of seconds before I heard the insignificant sound that marked the start of my day. “Tsss,” hissed the brakes as the bus came to a complete stop in front of the waiting crowd and the driver opened its doors to allow passengers to get on. I hopped on as adults and students alike fought for a place on the vehicle that would take them closer to their destination. As the bus started to move, I stared out the window and watched as the buildings slowly passed by, creating a mental list of the establishments in my neighborhood. To this, I added the many libraries, hospitals, convenient stores, supermarkets, and restaurants that were scattered on the blocks leading to my school. As I mindlessly performed this task, I could not help but think of how these buildings were so different and yet so similar. On my right was a Chinese convenient store and a Latin American restaurant, and on my left was an Indian grocery store and a Middle Eastern restaurant. Although they represent countries from different

I gaze intently at the city skyline. Within my peripheral vision, I detect the Statue of Liberty to the right; to the left, the Empire State Building. Taxi cabs and miniature people scramble around the streets. I listen to the constant roar of conversations. I inhale the pungent odor of cigarettes and hot dogs. I taste the salty, ocean-kissed air. When my memory is filled with every detail, I pull my head back. Resting in my hands is a glass ball, precious and fragile. I shake it violently, then stop abruptly. Sparkling specks swirl, then settle, covering the city with a glittering blanket. Warmth circulates throughout my being. For one moment, I am calm, floating peacefully like those shining bits of dust.

Back to finding genius ways to struggle with New Yorkers to earn an extra dollar...

After exiting the taxi, decided to go to his favorite restaurant in New York city, he then started walking down the sidewalk toward it, while he was walking head his phone ring and took his phone out of his pocket and answered it "Oh hey man what's up...yeah I'm here now..." he continues to talk to his friend as he arrived in front of the diner and stopped "Look I am about to get something to eat..." he stopped speaking when he noticed a guy in a black and red suit laying in the middle of the street he then continues to talk to his friend as he watched the stance man "It's really nothing...well there is a guy laying in the middle of the street in a black and red suit...What are you gonna expect, It's New York, hasn't changed a bit since the

When I moved here from New York, I was frighted. I was so confused on what was going on, and I missed every single thing that I left behind. My friends, neighbors, school, and home were gone forever. Lombard was a new start for me. The life here was completely different! In New York, we lived in a house next to a swamp with neighbors who were our age. We had lots of things such as wildlife, insects, especially cockroaches, fish, and of course, trees. Unfortunately, we don't have many kids our age in our condominium, but on the other side, we don’t have any creepy crawlers that come into our house! Similar to New York, we have lots of wildlife beneath the bushes and into to a wetland, with coyotes, snakes, frogs and toads. Unlike New York, our