The first time I came to New York I was probably five or six. My father was doing his residency at Yale which meant that the relatively short train ride from New Haven to NYC was manageable for my mom with two small girls. We stayed with my godmother, Aunt Carmelita, at her swinging bachelorette pad in the West Village. It was love at first sight!
The city, the sounds, the smells – wholly foreign and exotic were quixotic to my young self. And Carmelita (that’s what I call her now)? She was so pretty and stylish and she carried her cute little poodle, Cherie, with her everywhere we went. No one did that in Suburbia!! At that moment I knew a few things for sure – I wanted to live in New York when I grew up and I wanted a cute dog like Cherie. Carmelita’s studio apartment was decorated to the nines, I was in paradise. I remember that one wall was mirrored, floor to ceiling. Her apartment so chic and sophisticated to me – I could barely soak it all in. Yes, her kitchen (if you could call it that) was tiny. And, no she didn’t have any food in her refrigerator except hot dogs which she seemed to be ok eating raw. (I was grossed out then and to this day whenever I see a package of hot dogs I reminded of that moment!). But, these were eccentricities that I made her and New York all the more special. We took the subway and walked everywhere because she didn’t have a car – which didn’t even register with me at the time. If the city was dirty, I didn’t notice it. New York City was was just so different from anything I’d ever experienced up to that point. So yes, so many years ago, that’s when my love affair with New York City began.
Sure there were plenty more trips to NYC, but the next one that stood out in my mind was my Junior year of high school when I went to visit Carmelita by myself for Spring break. I’m dating myself, but suffice it to say there were no cellphones or ATM machines. While she was at work, I wandered the city getting lost and soaking it all in. All of the hot night clubs had Teen nights back then …. And yes, she convinced me that I would be ok if I went to Studio 54 by myself! Can you imagine??!? It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To this day, I’m not sure my parents know nothing about that little adventure … If you’ve watched The Carrie Diaries you know what I’m talking about. Enough said.
I think it was that trip that solidified my inner resolve to get myself to NYC as an adult. Many more trips with family and friends continued to confirm what I knew – that NYC was a place you could move to and just be you. It’s definitely a concrete jungle where dreams are made of … But rooted in the Midwest, I did what many good Midwestern girls do. I went to college and graduate school in the places I knew and felt comfortable in. I made long lasting friendships, fell in and out of love and started my professional career in Chicago. But, while I loved my family and friends and had a good life in Chicago, something was missing. So, armed with determination, a fierce love of the city, a law degree, a great godmother and one BFF living in New York city I took the leap. I moved to New York City in August of 1998 and I haven’t looked back.
My midwestern roots are still in tact, but I’m a New Yorker through and through. I don’t know if I’ll be here forever, but I do know that New York will always be a part of me. And just like my godmother who was so kind to let me and my friends invade her world every year, both my niece and my goddaughter having been making their annual pilgrimages to New York for the past couple of years now. I think we have two more New Yorkers in the making! So, stay tuned and follow along to learn and experience more of my New York.
