5 images that represents my experience being in New York City
When I first moved to New York, I wasn’t quite sure of who I was or who I am about to become. It was a matter of struggling to figure out what I really liked vs what I dislike the most. These photos are representative of the growth of my personality. In the beginning of the school year, I found it almost awkward to communicate with anyone since I have lived in a suburb in Seattle for the past 6 years of my life. I did not have a lot of friends and I struggled with anxiety and depression and coped with living in a bubble. The reason why I picked these images was because I am an enthusiast for memes, I love to share memes with my friends and loved ones no matter whenever and wherever. The first image would be the type I would send to strangers to impress them with my wholesomeness that somehow justifies and lets them know that I am a good friend to have around. The image on the right is when I become increasingly comfortable with a friend and I would reveal my strange humour for inexplicable and obscure memes I found on Reddit.
As time passed, I become increasingly comfortable with who I was, not only being confident in my sense of humour, but reaching out to others either in real life or via social media platforms. Being in New York helped me come out of my shell and increased my self esteem.
This photo relates to the previous in finding confidence in myself. When I lived in Seattle, not only did I struggled with making friends and new connections, I was extremely and still insecure about my body. While being in New York, I wouldn’t say I feel like an entirely changed person because that would be too cliché, but I was able to balance my diet and work out regularly. I was so happy with my life I took mirror pictures every single day to reflect increasing confidence. I felt like I finally was happy and content with where I was in life. However, since I went home to Seattle, I seem to have forgotten how to take care of myself again.
Being in New York gave me a sense of belonging and finally, a purpose in life. I felt important and valued being in New York, when I was living in Seattle, I hated the fact that I had to wake up early for school. It was miserable. However, when I was in New York, I valued waking up every single day to study at mini cafes before class, drinking hot coffee to energize myself before classes start was extremely satisfying and fulfilling for me. Now, I miss the feeling of being able to walk around a bustling city filled with opportunities and hope.
I wouldn’t say I have learned anything with this photo but this photo was the week before I had to pack my bags and leave New York City, it was a rush of anxiety and sadness since I had to leave all of my friends, my aspirations behind. When I woke up in the morning feeling a little under the weather, I noticed people around me began to take precaution of people possibly having coronavirus. I was genuinely surprised by the fact that Asian people like me were being discriminated against in the streets for wearing a mask for protection. It did not make any sense to me whatsoever why Asians were being discriminated when we just wanted to be protected. Being from Hong Kong, this was especially shocking to me. In Hong Kong we have had SARS which devastated the city for months, and buying a mask for protection just made sense to me.
When I went out to have dinner with my friends, slowly all of them began to complain about the harassment they were receiving from strangers. I was infuriated and scared at the possibility of getting harassed and never being able to see my parents again.
The last photo is a tribute to my friend who passed away from suicide recently, being in New York and Seattle at the same time taught me how to communicate and care for my friends. I felt like I was not always the best friend to have since I put myself first due to past trauma of being bullied as a child. I learned how to be a better person, I learned how important it was to check up on my friends and ask them how they are doing. This is reflective of I should have been there for my friend who passed away, knowing that I should have asked how he was doing when he sent me the last text he will ever send is extremely devastating for me.
