I was born and raised in New York, and like many of those that live here I am the child of
an immigrant. Most of my family had slowly started immigrating in the 1990s from the
Dominican Republic to New York. I’ve also lived in the Bronx most of my life, which is a very
different atmosphere from how outsiders view New York. Many view New York as luxurious,
somewhere people shop for designer brands and live in penthouses, but that is not the case, and
many tend to struggle living here. Especially in the Bronx, it can be much more difficult to
manage and find a balance. Despite all the negative things one might think of this borough, to
me, the Bronx is where I feel the most at home. Just like New York in general, there are so many
people of different backgrounds and yet you could still connect with them in some way.
However, there are also a lot of people of the same background you could find which I always
found comforting. Everywhere you went, you could spot aspects of Dominican culture
somewhere, even just small minor details. Someone could be playing the usual music we listen
to, or you could hear them talking to each other in the street with their obvious accents.
On the other side of things, I also embraced American culture in New York, probably
even more as the years go on due to assimilating. However, I still did things such as eating both
ethnic and American foods, speaking both Spanish and English and so on. From the 18 years that

I’ve lived here it has sometimes been a struggle to balance two different cultures and to
understand the concept of my lifestyle compared to others in the city.
One of the quotes from Joan Didion’s “Goodbye to All That” that really caught my
attention was “…programmed by all movies I had ever seen and all the songs I had ever sung and
all the stories I had ever read about New York, informed me that it would never quite be the
same again” (226). Here, the narrator talks about how much of an influence many works of art
based on living in New York affected her and her perspective of this place. I found this very
relatable because in my personal experience, I did all those things as well. For as long as I could
remember, I would watch films with my family about New York then when I got older, I’d
watch TV shows and read magazines and novels about here. It might seem a bit strange to do all
of this whilst living in New York and experiencing some of the things mentioned my family had
influenced me so much on how I view living here. For example, my mom and her brothers were
either born here or immigrated here while they were still adolescents. They grew up here and
enjoyed it even though they’d face hardships with learning a different language and living in a
low-income neighborhood. They’re the reason why I view living here in such an optimistic way
and tried to not let my struggles or financial status get in the way of enjoying how I spend my
time here (sometimes).
As naïve as it sounds, knowing my future can go a different path, New York is always
going to be there for me, and I’ve always thought I’ll live here for the rest of my life. There’s no
place like New York and I cannot see myself ever settling down somewhere like the suburbs. I
can travel the world, or even stay at a different country for however long, but I feel that I will
always come back. Because of what I was exposed to from a very young age, I see the city in
such a positive light. My family always viewed this country as a land of opportunity. I cannot

imagine the struggles they have endured both here and, in their homeland, but what I know is
that they worked hard to get here. I will continue to strive here in the city knowing that
somewhere there’s always an open door and an available spot. You can think of this place as
crowded but, with this many people in one area is always a lot more people in need of others.
But growing up, I struggled with comprehending how class and money played a part in
where you lived in New York and what you did in your time. What I saw in the media was
different from my reality. I wasn’t like these people I read about or watched at all. The only thing
I related to with these made up characters or celebrities in magazines was the occasional
exploring around Manhattan. My normal was walking around my block and usually only doing
things at my block. I shopped at my block, went to the park, had friends there, everything I
needed was at least a five-block radius. I hardly ever stepped out the borough up until high
school and had not experienced or seen much.
Life in New York is often glamorized, when you read a book or watch a movie or show,
they usually talk about downtown Manhattan. As a child I still loved being in the Bronx but was
often confused because it was not glamourous here. I didn’t get why my apartment didn’t look
like the ones in Manhattan or why I didn’t have a large bedroom with a walk-in closet like they
showed repeatedly in the media. It took me a while to understand that a large portion of New
York can’t afford to live that lifestyle and though it may not be entirely fair, it’s fine if you’re not
extremely wealthy. When I got older and started exploring more, it opened my eyes. I do not
think I ever entirely thought negatively about New York, instead I developed an understanding
for how things function around here and that it can sometimes fit in the terms of “survival of the
fittest”. I see the positive side in the city being highly competitive, which makes you want to

strive to be at your best. I learned to appreciate all parts of where I live and that no matter what
part of New York you live in, there’s always upsides and downsides that come with it.
When it comes to living here, the first thing you probably think of is money. That’s why I
found “My Misspent Youth” by Meghan Daum intriguing when I was reading it and was
probably one of my favorite essays to read because it showed the reality of how it is to live here.
It also helped me realize that sometimes you need to be logical and practical when it comes to
your desires, that you need to find a balance and figure out a way to manage. You can have a set
dream and have goals, but there is a process that comes with reaching them and that you should
make yourself aware of. A quote that I liked was “I’ve always been somebody who exerts a great
deal of energy trying to get my realities to match my fantasies, even if the fantasies are made
from materials that are no longer manufactured, even if some governmental agency has assessed
my aspirations and pronounced them a health hazard.” I do not fully relate to this but, it had me
thinking about my fantasies and how badly I wanted them to become reality. It is fair to say
balance is something many people want, or to be well off enough to not stress about the financial
part of things. I may not have a specific plan but one of my desires is to have that financial
freedom that many people want. I want to live comfortably and not worry about not being able to
buy something I want or go somewhere I want to visit. Some could consider this as childish as
how the speakers of both essays mentioned sound, but that is the whole point of why I am
writing this. Since I am still young, I think a lot like how these speakers described themselves
when they first came to New York. I have lived here my whole life but being in a different
environment makes me want to be exposed to more things like how these two characters aspired
for at first. I’ll always go back to New York and I’ll always go back to the Bronx but as I
mentioned before, learning about other parts of the city is something I want to do as well.

Though I have embraced who I am and where I live, I also want something different and better
for myself, like everyone else does. I can stay in the same area and still want to elevate and step
up from something. I am very much aware that the things I want are usually a luxury, and luxury
was a thing I used to be confused about. But everyone has their desires and wants to live in
prosperity, which is not a bad thing at all, it will just be harder to get in New York, it is still
something you can achieve.
To conclude, my overall experience in New York has taught me to not be embarrassed
about where I am from and to never hide my true self. I have always been unapologetic about
where I am from and how I am not what you see in a typical novel, television show or movie
about living in New York. I have learned to love all of New York and want to learn more about
everywhere since I am still young and have not experienced everything. I view things in a more
positive way because I am not yet bored of New York or stressed about what I must deal with on
a day to day basis. Apart of me still wants to live like those who are wealthy, but I would also be
happy with my own version of that type of comfort. This goes to show most of the time I am on
neither side on whether New York is good or bad and that I just accept it for what it is.