I have been fortunate to have travelled extensively, both within U.S. and at international level. Given the sheer number of places I have seen, one may assume it is hard for me to pick a single most favorite place but the answer is not that hard for me. There are many places I love and would visit again but none has won my heart like New York City (NYC). All of my experiences in NYC have convinced me that if there were a single country in the world, its capital would have been NYC. NYC has not only impressed me because there is no shortage of sightseeing options but also because I have learnt a lot about myself as well as the greater world in NYC.
One of the things almost everyone immediately notices in NYC is the diversity of culture. One can find food from almost every part of the world in NYC and similarly, there is a high chance one may find a particular area with high concentration of people from his native country if he himself/herself in international. Where there are official places like Little China and Little Italy, there are also places which have gained unofficial names like Little India and Little Russia and the reason is self-explanatory. I have had the opportunity to talk with people from different cultures and I could not help but notice that almost all of them loved the cultural diversity of their city and were quite open to cross-cultural experiences. In addition, they would also be more tolerant of immigrants, even undocumented immigrants which are usually the victim of populist propaganda in certain regions of the U.S. The cultural diversity of NYC has taught me several valuable lessons. First of all, the key to peace is cultural diversity and not cultural isolation. When people meet from different cultures and get to know more about each other, they form relatively positive attitudes towards each other. This helps the society reduce the prevalence of cultural stereotypes. Probably the greatest example of this may be the large number of people from India and Pakistan I met in NYC and who were close friends with each other. They admitted being in NYC had made them adopt more positive attitude towards each other, unlike back home.
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One cannot help but be impressed by the industrial credentials of NYC. NYC is not home to just one thriving industry but many industries including but not limited to business, fashion, media, services, and showbiz. Many young people specifically come to NYC because they know NYC is a major commercial center that supports many industries. I also noticed in NYC that an average professional in NYC is much more informed about the greater world than their peers in other cities and I actually asked some of them why it was so. They replied they have friends with quite different professional backgrounds. When they get together, they often talk about different issues and each person usually brings different point of view to the table, due to his/her different life experiences as well as academic and professional background. This answer makes perfect sense and has influenced me in meeting people from as different academic and professional backgrounds as possible. When we are exposed to different point of views, our thinking horizon expands and we also become better at identifying our personal biases. I believe I am now more objective and less emotional in my thinking as compared to just few years back.
Life in NYC is really fast. When we see people on the street, they always seem to be in hurry. The pedestrians do become a little more relaxed after work hours but during work hours, they walk so fast as if they are not walking but instead running slowly. This did bother me at first but I eventually realized time is quite a valuable commodity for New Yorkers because opportunities may be abundant in NYC but so is the competition. In a way, this is a wakeup call for me that the competition in the job market will continue to increase, especially when working in a big city, thus, I have to learn to value my limited time resources more. After all, NYC has not become one of the commercial centers of the world by taking things in a relaxed manner. New Yorkers do not only live life in a fast lane when it comes to recreational activities but also when it comes to their professional lives. This may be why they are usually ahead of their industry peers in most of the other regions in the country and even the world.
NYC is famous for several places including Statue of Liberty, Empire Center, Times Square, Central Park, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. While some go to these places merely to have good time, I cannot help but notice how these places also teach us a lot about the past. I believe history is important so that we know how we have arrived where we are now. Past teaches us lessons and in order to ensure an even brighter future, one has to learn from the past. Statue of Liberty reminds us that freedom didn’t come without sacrifices and in order to prosper, the values of liberty should continue to be protected at all costs. Times Square may remind some of the benefits of capitalism and why private enterprise should be allowed to flourish.
NYC is my most favorite place not just because it is beautiful but also because I learn a lot about myself and the greater world. First of all, I have learnt the key to peace of greater cultural diversity and not less. I have also learnt we should meet people from as different backgrounds as possible, in order to broaden our thinking horizon. NYC has also taught me time is valuable and will only become more valuable due to growing competition. Last but not least, we should study past so that lessons of the past help us build an even better society.
