If you know me well, this will come as no surprise to you:  I LOVE New York. I have had the pleasure of living in the vicinity of this great city for 11 years of my life, yet every time I am here I love it even more. As a young adult, there’s no greater place than New York. It’s full of energy: everyone around you has come here to do something great, ambitious and creative.  There’s nothing more exciting and inspiring than living and working among people who are motivated to accomplish their goals. Okay, I’ll admit, not EVERYONE is working hard to accomplish their goals. But, this brings me to my second favorite thing about New York: the weirdos. The weirdos that populate NYC are one generally the most entertaining thing of a day spent in NYC. Just last week I sat across from a tiny Asian man on the subway who was very daintily holding his coffee yet simultaneously eating his bagel like the world was ending. The only frustrating thing was that I was forced to keep my composure and resist laughing each time the piece of bagel almost fell from his carp-like mouth. This seemingly unimportant event in my life set the tone for that whole morning–each time I thought back on my subway ride that morning I snickered a bit at the thought of that man and his peculiar actions. This leads me to my third favorite: mass transit. It was not until I went to school in Texas that I truly realized the value of mass transit. This might seem backwards, but I find few things more freeing than knowing I can get anywhere I want without a car. I love having the ability to walk somewhere and explore–to get lost, to see things I wouldn’t have seen if I were in a car. Plus, walking allows me to better orient myself in the city, so that I feel I can go anywhere without having to check a map or ask a stranger. Well, there you have it. The top three of my long list of NYC favorites.

In commemoration of my love for this city, feel free to browse some of my favorite snapshots I’ve taken here.