I grew up in Chicago, on the North side of the city (saved you a step in trying to ask what suburb I'm from and then me having to explain that no I'm not from the suburbs I'm actually from the city, etc. - you're welcome for that). And chances are that no matter what happens, Chicago will always be my favorite city in the world. It's home, after all, and a pretty great place to call home at that.
A couple months ago, though, I visited New York City for the second time, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about the way it made me feel. The way it made me think. The way that when you're there, it's like you know everything and nothing at the same time. Simply put, New York makes me feel alive. It makes me question humanity, society and whether or not there's anywhere else on Earth like it (I don't think there is). The electricity of the city runs right through your veins in the best way possible and if only for a moment shared with a stranger, you feel connected to it, a part of it.
If you haven't been to New York City, I'm jealous. Because you've still yet to experience the first moment New York will steal your heart. For me, it wasn't Times Square or a Broadway play or even having my first slice of New York style pizza (although that's damn good). It was laughing my way onto the subway after a few (too many) drinks with some friends I hadn't seen in awhile. None of us really knew where the train was taking us, and I'm willing to bet we made our trip at least 3x as long as it needed to be. But there was something about that moment that just clicked.
The sky-high rent. The sometimes putrid smell of the subway stations. The $15 cocktails. It all seemed worth it to be a cog in this crazy, beautiful machine called New York City. I think that once you experience New York, you will find yourself feeling a connection to this place, too. Feeling comfort in knowing that this place is out there. That there's this wonderful web of city streets where around every corner is a piece of every corner of the world. And even more than comfort, feeling excitement in thinking that somewhere in this wonderful web, your new home might be waiting for you (or being lived in by mice and/or cockroaches, but hey).
I like to think that in a way, New York is waiting for everyone, just like it was waiting for me. Whether it's for a week or a lifetime or even just a few hours. One day, I think I'll call it home. But for now, I'll trust that the piece of my heart that's in New York City is waiting patiently (okay, probably not patiently, if it's my heart) for me to meet it there. Maybe on a street corner, enjoying a black and white cookie and watching the people pass by.