Welcome to Free Press Free Write, a weekly column written by the staff of The New School Free Press. Each week a new staff member might share a story, memory, maybe a DIY, or a week-in-review. Free Write is a space where our reporters, artists and editors can express themselves through writing. In times like these, writing can be an escape.
This week our reporter and story editor, Danielle Hoppenheim, a second-year studying Journalism + Design at Lang, shares how COVID-19 impacted her relationship with New York City, a city she had always dreamed of living in since she was a child.
As corny as it sounds, I have dreamed about living in New York City ever since I was a little girl. I grew up reading “Eloise at the Plaza”, watching “Sex and the City” and “Gossip Girl”, and listening to “New York State of Mind” on repeat. I fantasized about strolling down the quaint streets of the West Village, running in and out of SoHo shops, grabbing dinners and coffees at local institutions, and having that unmatchable electric Manhattan energy run through my veins the second I step out onto the pavement.
Once I was accepted to the New School, there was no time to waste. I packed my bags, stuffed my parent’s car, and made my way to the City. I arrived as a naive 18-year-old girl, with no friends and no idea what to expect but with big dreams that I was insistent on fulfilling.
My first year in the city was incredibly different than I thought it was going to be. It took a while to find my “Sex and the City” group. I wasn’t living at the Plaza hotel like Eloise was. and I wasn’t wining and dining at New York’s best restaurants. However, the electric Manhattan energy that ran through my veins the second I stepped out onto the street was there. It made me feel my best and gave me the freedom to explore and get out of my comfort zone.
In March of 2020, I was at an all-time high. I was meeting new friends, exploring new neighborhoods, going on exciting dates and engaging in my classes. I finally felt like I had found my place.
And then COVID-19 arrived, and I had to come down from that high.
When the pandemic hit New York City, I packed my bags as fast as I could and went back to Montreal. I was devastated. I felt like I abandoned the city, the one that I had grown to love and feel at home in such a short amount of time.
While home with my family, I longed for the day I would finally be able to have that Manhattan energy run through my veins again. I spent so much time daydreaming about the future that I was not able to enjoy the present, which was spending quality time with my family and being able to enjoy the pure Canadian air.
When it was finally time to decide whether to return to the city for the fall semester, I begged my parents to allow me to go.
Coming back, I noticed the city atmosphere was different from when I left in March. It had felt like the city had fought a war, and people were slowly recovering from the battle. While the electric energy was there, it felt faint.
On Friday nights I was no longer waiting in lines for clubs or ordering gin and tonics at my local bar. I was attending class from my small apartment in the East Village. The most exhilarating activity was browsing the aisles of Trader Joe’s (I can’t complain about that too much; it is heaven).
I would sit in my room and ask myself if living in New York City during this time was worth it. How nice would it be to be living on a beach with open air? Should I really be paying an absurd amount of rent for a tiny apartment? Did I take my time with my family back home for granted?
While these thoughts would continue to live rent-free in my mind, I’m still here seven months later. Walking around with my headphones in, blasting some of my favorite music and adventuring around the many different areas of the city helped me see how truly special this place was.
Where else in the world can you walk into a bodega at 3 a.m. and order a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, or see people so overjoyed with the outcome of an election that they jump into the fountain in Washington Square Park, or see a bright orange sunset reflected off the New York skyline?
I am committed to this city and grateful to it as it has made me the person I am today. The thoughts of wanting to leave are overpowered by the infatuation I have for New York City. I fall in love with a new part of it every single day (still so corny I know, I know).
