An Introspective Boat Ride

The New York Water Taxi was one of the best things I've done up here. Even if you've lived here your whole life and you've never done it, I highly suggest you do. You get a completely different perspective of this crazy, hectic city from the water. It's peaceful, sparkling and majestic.

As I've said once before in this blog, I'm a very patriotic person. But I've never thought so fondly or felt so strongly for New York or America, until I saw the empty space in the skyline where the World Trade Center once stood. I thought about the strength both this city and our country have exhibited following that horrible day.

Ever since gaining this new perspective, I've felt differently towards the city I once thought of as a mecca for high-achievers, self-expressionists and non-sleepers. I now appreciate it as a home. I can recognize the pride and unity that it holds, and I see what it stands for in so many peoples' eyes. There is something truly remarkable about a community that can somehow piece back together something that broke an entire country. That day, I felt a nationwide sense of pride and patriotism shining through the skyscrapers and bouncing off the water--it was the resilience of this city.

I once thought it would be the New York Yankees hat I recieved from a friend that would get me to root for the team. Now I realize it's something much different.