What It's Like Going to College in New York City
Sex in the City, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (the superior Home Alone movie, by the way), West Side Story, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, RENT, The Devil Wears Prada, the list goes on.
Up until last year, these were my memories of New York City. Sure, I’d had a connecting flight in NYC before, but I hardly think any New Yorker thinks JFK is NYC at its finest.
No, the place I had pictured NYC to be was a place too cinematic to be real, a set more robust than any other, with a both glamorous and raw facade, and yet a cold air to it. Coming from Guadalajara, México, a city which is a mix of modern and historic buildings, humidity, and beautiful vegetation, and later San Diego, CA, a colorful, eclectic, and laid back beach city (like a beach town, but larger), New York City would be unlike anything I had ever known before. Drastically different.
Naturally, I was simultaneously excited and terrified. So I decided to prepare… by finishing the last two seasons of Sex in the City. I know. But cut me some slack—I’m from California, how was I supposed to know any better? After all Cynthia Nixon, the actress who plays Miranda Hobbes—the character that has aged most gracefully, might I add—went to Barnard, though with a Harvard law degree and as the constant voice of reason to her group of friends, I’m not surprised.
However, watching the series only led to more questions. I couldn’t help but wonder, would everyone be as intimidating and put together as the people in the series? Would I be expected to eat brunch with my group of friends at a new place every weekend, not to mention take cab rides everywhere? I most definitely could not afford that. Would I ever fall into a sidewalk cellar a la Samantha Season 6, Episode 11? But to answer all of these questions, I had to experience the city myself.
From the moment I arrived at Barnard, I knew that nothing could have prepared me for getting to know New York City, an inexplicable organism of magic and madness. Nevertheless, I would like to try to give it my best shot and tell myself what I wish I had known back then: Barnard College sits in Morningside Heights, a neighborhood with a charm like butterscotch candy, welcoming, warm, and rich in history. The businesses within a two-mile radius from campus become your second home—one my fondest memories is getting to play board games with my group of friends at Hex & Co after a tiresome week. To my delight, New York City’s public transportation system is far superior to California’s, and, outside of movies, and evidently Sex and the City, cabs are thankfully not the preferred mode of transportation, so with a subway entrance only a few steps from the campus’ gates, the city becomes yours to explore.
As an FGLI student, I know you’re worried about expenses, but trust that Barnard has resources to support you, including the FLIP library, PAL program, and work-study options. You will be surprised at the number of exciting things you can do in the city for free—well, except for the subway fare—not to mention that your Barnard ID will let you take your weekend study break to the Met, the American Museum of Natural History, the MoMA; your possibilities are endless. Heck, even your professor, who has gone to the Met countless of times, claims she’s probably only gotten through 20 percent of it. In other words, trust me, there will always be something to explore. Getting in New York City will provide you with opportunities otherwise unimaginable. You will be given the opportunity to learn in interactive ways. You will get to experience one Broadway show and three other professional theatre productions within your first-year as part of your curriculum, and the papers you will write in exchange will not even feel like assignments.
I have fallen in love with New York. Only the real New York this time, not the mesmerizing idea of it. Though admittedly, at times I am still mesmerized by the city. In fact, during the fall my LA roommate and I were admiring the yellow leaves on the trees so deeply, and in a state of such bewilderment, that a New Yorker curiously asked us what we were gawking at –naturally, she thought there must have been a squirrel in the tree. We were just so used to palm trees that the yellow canopy seemed so whimsical!
There are nights at Barnard, where I am studying with my friends in my dorm room, drinking a delectable Diana Cafe smoothie, and laughing so hysterically, that it almost seems like I am in my own version of a New York series, only ten times better. So to the Daniela that was incredibly anxious about living in New York City a few months ago, don’t worry, you’ll be just fine. And as for falling into a sidewalk cellar, you thankfully haven’t—not yet, at least.