I Love You, New York.

October 30th, 2022: Peak foliage flourishes and tourists gather at beautiful Bow Bridge in serene Central Park.

It feels like it’s my mission in life to show you why every state is worth visiting. But here’s a state that needs no advertising because the city that makes it tick is everything you’ve dreamed of and a whole lot more.

This is home—this is New York City. I live in the heart of it, and I’m lucky enough to call its famed 843-acre park my backyard. Central Park is where I come to slow my power walk to a brisk stroll. Here, I watch the world go ‘round Bethesda Fountain. I stare out at The San Remo and wonder what Steve Martin is doing. I sit by the lake, waiting for turtles to notice me. I wish for the fish not to pick fights with them.

I touch giant snakes wrapped around their owners’ necks just to freak myself out and giggle. I make my-size bubbles using rope looped around two sticks and dipped into a sparkling soapy concoction a man whipped up on the pavement. He carries acorns in his pockets and uses them to bribe the squirrels to let him do his thing. They come to him constantly with an insatiable hunger for nature’s snacks.

Sometimes I spend the better part of the day in the park. I recently met an older gentleman who knew my name, but neither of us could remember how we knew each other. We sat and talked shop for a while. Later that same day, the Nebraska t-shirt I was wearing attracted the attention of a man closer to my age. He was from Nebraska and got such a kick out of finding someone in the big apple representing his home state. We talked travel for a while. I love thinking about how I almost didn’t put that t-shirt on that day—I was very close to wearing a non-Nebraska shirt. We wouldn’t have crossed paths that day.

I love encounters like that. New York manufactures them like she was printing them in the basement. New York’s a place where dreamers come to let their lives run free. It’s a place where he who doesn’t consider himself a people person finds himself frequently enjoying friendly banter with passersby. New York is where bold, brave people come to live life at full volume. It’s a place where everyone can let their freak flag fly, and no one’s strange for it.

When I moved back into the city at the height of the pandemic, I purchased two velvet capes—one purple, one black. They weren’t for Halloween—they were for feeling wicked and cozy and maybe even a little wild at home or wherever my cape vibes would take me. I wouldn’t walk around any other town dressed in a cape in December, but here, I’d wear it with a smile and collect compliments along the way.

New York is the easiest state to write a love letter about—probably because I have endless material, having lived here nearly all my life.

I love New York so much that I can’t even rank it when I list my favorite states—to me, it’s simply unrankable. But I can say that no matter where I roam, New York will always be home.