Midwest Girl Meets New York City

Photo Courtesy of Ellie Mitchell

As I drive into the “Big Apple” the skyline is ten times Kansas City’s, spanning farther than my squinted eyes can see. The skyscrapers are higher than my neck can recline back. Seeing the lit-up city for the first time is something I’ve anticipated for a long time.

The stench of city grime everywhere filled the air as we hopped off of the coach bus at 4 o’clock a.m. Dozens of taxis whizzing by was the opposite of the rare sighting of taxis in Kansas City. The loud noises at 1 o’clock a.m. from people walking in Times Square kept me up at night thinking about whether or not Kansas City was the best place to live like I always thought it was.

But while the sleepless city was amusing, the people in New York City are just not the nice mid-west people I always grew up around. I do not regret growing up in Kansas City in the slightest bit. It has taught me how to be a nice human being and to be patient. People in New York do not have patience for anyone or anything. There are more people honking per hour then there are people in Kansas City. The quick pace makes me envision a future for myself and to become as successful as some of those people working for Bloomberg.

New York City has a fast paced vibe to it with honking cars blaring in one ear and music from department stores blasting out of the other. Everyone pushes each other to cross 8th Avenue to catch the 34th Street subway to Wall Street or Times Square, wherever they may be going. No one stops and holds the door open to let you go through, people just yell at you to move out of the way.

There are people hustling to get back to work on time after their break with four Starbucks drinks in hand for co-workers. The business side of things was eye opening. There are so many people who come from diverse backgrounds and all wind up at Bloomberg working for the same multi-million  dollar company.

Walking around the building seeing 10 gallon fish tanks on every floor along with free coffee and endless amounts of snacks are something that I could get used to. The artwork hanging of shining glass balls hanging over my head as we went up the escalator made me feel like I was in the Ritz Carlton not a place that could potentially be a work place. The most glamorous it gets in Kansas City is the Plaza Lights during the holidays.

I never thought that New York could be a potential place to live. Little did I know I kept up with the quick pace and gave me a sense of power to put forth into where I am going. One of the tour guides from Bloomberg was a street dancer and could speak 3 languages so decided to apply online and now is a Sales Manager for one of the biggest companies in the world. He wasn’t elite. He was an ordinary guy who gave it a shot.

Kansas City isn’t a bad place to be, but it doesn’t give me anything to reach for. I am torn between the hometown I have been raised in to believe that the skyline of Kansas City is bigger than New York’s or going to the big city that has endless possibilities around every corner. New York is the big leagues so why not try to go as high as I can.

People from the midwest may be kind-hearted who will say please and thank you, not like those in New York who shove their way through just to get across 5th Avenue the quickest.. Growing up in the midwest helped me gain a sense of courtesy for others as everyone holds the door. It’s not something that I would change looking back on it but going forward my aspirations have grown higher. New York City is where the most successful people end up and that’s where I want to be.