Lost in The City of Blinding Lights

New York thrums with energy, day and night. The city transports those who dare to set foot in it to places unknown, where pulsing lights and shadows converge to form a city of illusions. With its looming buildings and concrete streets, New York can be a jungle of dreams or a maze of confusion. The many avenues and turns and shortcuts can leave those accustomed to small-town life gasping for air. Literally.

It is easy to get lost in the Big Apple, and even harder to find our destination. When you no longer can rely on maps and you're starting to break out in a profuse sweat, you need only to fall on your knees and pray for a GPS. (Especially if you don't have reliable WiFi access.)

A few days ago, while in NYC, I spent two hours looking for the subway station. Exhausted, I was about ready to catch the first train out of the city. I was not getting paid enough to do this. As a matter of fact, I was not getting paid at all. I could not bear the heat of the underground station. I could not bear the stench of rotting garbage or the overwhelming sea of people. The fumes of the train made my eyes water, and sweat plastered my hair to the nape of my neck. It hadn't occurred to me that I was deep in the heart of the city.

I don't like to ask for help. I'd much rather wander the streets in hopeless desperation than confess that my sense of direction has once again failed me. I don't know what that says about me. Through the years, I've employed a simple learning technique: Look closely for clues and figure it out. Everything I need to know is around me; it's only a matter of being aware of my surroundings. Too bad this same principle does not apply to New York's subway system. While it is no remarkable feat to familiarize oneself with the underground station (as many a people have done it in the past), I was on a tight schedule. I could not afford to while away the afternoon reading pamphlets and deciphering maps.

Finally, amid swearing and sweating, I found the PATH--the transit system linking New York to New Jersey urban communities. Soon after stumbling into the PATH, I paid the fare, boarded the train, and sighed with relief. This process, unlike what I'd gone through, was both comforting and familiar.

New York is a playground for adventurers. The thrill of trekking through unknown land and discovering hidden passageways attracts tourists all year round. With surprise lurking around every corner, who would want to miss out on the opportunity to explore the big city? There is a reason New York is lovingly dubbed the Big Apple. Good things don't always come in small packages.

New York forced me to shed the cloak I was hiding in. It reinforced a sense of independence that, despite unseen threats, managed to awake in me a desire to make the city my playground. I longed to swim amid blinding lights and colossal buildings, to weave my way through the twinkling stars that surround the city in a dreamy haze of endless summer.

The New York I love is built on a field of multicolored lights and cosmopolitan dreams. The New York I love is above ground, where it lures the ambitious into dreams of success and fame, knowing quite well that it is but an illusion--hard to let go of, yet easy to shatter.

The New York I love is a complicated network of streets and buildings which, despite its seemingly welcoming aura, is equally indifferent to the faint-hearted as to those looking for adventure. But once it warms your heart, it is hard to untangle yourself from its grasp--even if it made you lose your way and tested your patience.

Welcome to New York.