Dear Diary, I'm Finding Myself

When In New York

Dear Diary,

I have to admit something. I never expected college could be so … well, gigantic. It’s the whole city, really. I mean, I knew Hillsboro is a far cry from world’s biggest metropolises, but this … I didn’t expect it at all. New York is not just a metropolis, it’s the metropolis.

Okay, it hasn’t been my official first day yet, but Hunter and I still took a peek at my future university. He was almost more curious than I was. It’s really something. I like it way better than Yale. And yeah, I had to make a joke about it as well. Hunter took it pretty well.

Anyway, I’m starting with my interviews and I’m trying to prepare for them as much as I can. I hope someone somewhere will see some potential in me and take me. I did get a partial scholarship for my work, after all.

We’re staring at the bookcase we’ve just put together, tilting our heads like we’re a little cuckoo. Hunter lets out a confused ‘huh’, while I sigh in defeat. “This isn’t how it was put together in the store,” I remark, frustrated that we can’t even build a bookcase properly.

At this point, I should probably remind myself that we still have to put together an entire closet. The table won’t be such an issue. I hope. “I don’t know, I think it’s quite similar,” my boyfriend says in response.

I shoot him a look, before shaking my head at him. “Definitely not. Are you sure there were no instructions?” I try again. He turns his gaze towards me for a brief moment, then looks back at the furniture we’ve just spent half an hour putting together.

This time, he’s the one shaking his head. “No, there weren’t any,” he tells me, and I let out another heavy sigh, before grabbing the box it was packed in. Suddenly, my face falls.

I literally shove the box into his face. “Really? Than what’s this, drawn on the packaging?” I ask in amusement, making him stiffen for a moment. Then, he steal a careful glance at me, probably checking if I’m mad. But I’m barely containing my laughter anymore.

“Oh, wow. Would you look at that,” he mumbles, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. He sends me a sheepish smile as he takes the box into his hands, going over the pictures, that are drawn at the front. To be honest, he couldn’t possibly see it when he tore the package open. There was foil wrapped around it, and the receipt was covering the instructions.

Ten minutes later, the bookcase is already standing the way it was supposed to. And we’re both watching our work with pride. Then, I glance at the much bigger package behind us, bumping his side with my shoulder. “We have one more project to deal with,” I remind him.

As he glances over his shoulder, he shakes his head. “How about we let our clothes stay in our suitcases for another week?” he suggests hopefully, earning himself a playful smack in the shoulder.

Shortly said, we manage to put together everything by the end of the day. We still don’t have a dining table and chairs, because the store didn’t have any in stock. They’ll let us know when we can borrow the delivery truck again. We drove it back in the evening, barely catching the opening hours to return the keys.

But the next day … I can’t even begin to describe how awesome it was. We woke up early. At five am, to be precise. Partially because this is the time we need to get up in order to catch our trains to school, partially because I’m being solidary towards Hunter, who’ll have to wake up at this time tomorrow already.

The walk to the train station takes us about fifteen minutes, give or take a minute. And we manage to catch the train at eighteen minutes past six. We arrive at the Grand Central Terminal a little before half past eight. And oh my God, it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

It’s not just a central train station, it’s a whole lively city, gathered in a building. There’s cafés, music, stores, anything you desire, really. The iconic clock. I’ve seen this place in so many movies, but seeing it in person is really something else entirely. It’s busy in there, almost like it’s the entry to the afterlife or something like that.

We spend an hour just roaming that place, because we can’t get enough of it. Only then we decide to go tour New York properly. It’s the liveliest city I’ve ever seen. If I thought Portland was busy, then I don’t know how to describe New York.

Everything is filled up to the last corner. The sidewalks with people, the road with cars, the streets with all that noise. It’s incredible. Just thinking about the fact that I’ll be going here for the next four years makes me panic a little. How the hell am I going to find my way around here?

Hunter takes my hand and follows the sight of the Empire State Building. From there, we head towards the Times Square, and I can’t help but drag him to the place of my dreams. I mean, my recent dreams. I know it’s wild, but I’m becoming a ‘go big or go home’ type of girl.

I tell him we’re going to Starbucks. But as we head towards it, he notices the gigantic writing on the skyscraper sooner than I do. “Oh, look, this is where they make the Times!” he exclaims, almost a little excitedly.

I smirk as he looks at me. “I know. I’m manifesting my future job here,” I joke, making him chuckle in response. He sends me a look, half disapproving, half amused.

“Really? I thought we were going to Starbucks,” he remarks, making me shrug. Now I’m the one pointing. At the Starbucks sign nearby. It’s literally in the same building.

“We are. And imagine that, if I get a job here, I’ll be able to get a coffee from Starbucks every day,” I tell him excitedly. He plays with me and matches my enthusiasm as he swings his arm over my shoulders.

“Now that’s literally a dream job.”