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I had just turned seventeen. I didn’t know that much more than Times Squares and Broadway back then, but I knew New York was home to some of my very favorite movies, and that was about it. So when I got on a plane headed to Manhattan, I was excited, of course, but looking back now I see I had no idea what I would find. We landed on JFK and made our way to the immigration line. I looked to my right and there was a huge glass window that showed it was night. And something inside me began to change. I felt confident in my teenager boots for the first time in a very long time and then it hit me: “I’m in NYC and it is night. It is nighttime in NYC.”. Getting out of the airport to the parking lot was a shock. When the automatic doors opened in front of us, I felt cold like never before. I slipped into my coat and felt the rather aggressive winds of early march cut through me like a million little knives. “So, this is what cold REALLY feels like.”, I thought to myself. The next day I stacked up coat over coat, pantyhose over jeans, sock over sock. Little did I know how badly I would need the gloves I forgot to pack! We drove to Times Squares first thing in the morning. Getting out of the car I was hit with wonderments. People of every age, race and styles walked on by. Crossing the street alone was an adventure. Every corner, things to do. Theaters, museums, stores, restaurants, television studios. Everywhere, light! My heart raced as if I had just been reunited with a very old friend. I remember being amazed by how close things were from each other and how easy it was to walk from block to block without getting lost. There was color everywhere you’d look. I got to the square and felt an emerging sense of familiarity. Like I could finally make all my dreams come true and live inside my favorite film. The simple act of strolling around could make you feel like being in a music video or a movie montage. It was a feeling that everything could happen right there and then and there was no need to wait any longer for life to begin. Maybe a flashmob would emplode or maybe the Ghostbusters car would come racing by. Maybe The Avengers would assemble right before my eyes. Anything was possible. Fiction was reality. Life was fantasy. Everything had potential and every ordinary day could become unforgettable. Street artists filled pavements and subways, and music followed all around. I remember being inside that big old Toys “R” Us not knowing if it was day or night because the streets outside were so bright you could barely see the dark. And I could barely see the dark. On our very last night in the city, we were gifted a farewell kiss. Just before we would get the car and head to the hotel, it began to rain. And that rain quickly became snow. Very gently, the snowflakes would fall lightly amd slowly and stick to my hair, holding their perfect heaven-made shape. I could see the shoulders of my red coat turning white. So we danced and celebrated that moment that felt so close to miraculous. I felt home through the chaos. I didn’t feel out of place like I have my whole life. The city embraced me and gave me dreams and I embraced it back. I expected so much from NYC. I expected madness, crowded places and expensive things. But out of all the things I expected to find in NYC, I did not expect to find such peace of mind.