The Asphalt is Always Greyer

Having my friend Kari visit from home last week immediately opened my eyes to what I've missed for the past year: the beauty of New York City---the reason I came.

Self pity dictates that, for the last year, I haven't been able to live a "glamorous NY lifestyle"--but compared to my old life, that's not true. Parties, clubs, museums, Google, Food Network, 1010 WINS and now CondeNast...When I take inventory of what I've experienced in just 11 months, it's baffling. Watching Kari's face light up in the lobby of Grand Central, seeing her awe in Times Square and her tears on a sunset cruise around the island shamed me. While I certainly can't continue to drop the time and money I did when she visited, I still have so many resources at my fingertips.

Almost everyone from my graduating class at the journalism school wanted to come to NYC & I'm one of the handful that did it. They will probably always see my life as more exciting and I will always see theirs as more comfortable. But, just as they can't compare their lives (on the semi-rural west coast) to mine, I can't compare mine (at the start of adult life) to the upper ranks of Manhattan.

Even as I recognize my position and my privileged life, I have to wonder if the grass really will always be greener on the other side, even when you get to live in New York City.

"When I go to farms or little towns, I am always surprised at the discontent I find. And New York, too often, has looked across the sea toward Europe. And all of us who turn our eyes away from what we have are missing life. "
Norman Rockwell


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