Yuliya was a student of University of Wroclaw in Poland, when she came first time to New York. She lives here for three years. Last year she won a Green Card. This girl is a very hard worker. She is doing her bachelor on Politic Science, and works all her free time to pay for college and make some living. However, she is a very optimistic, and she is in love with New York.
"When you want something, all the universe is conspiring to help you achieve it."
Paulo Coelho, “Alchemist”
It was first of July. My airplane "Amsterdam- New York” landed in JFK airport at 11 pm. I looked out of the window; it was dark and rainy. The weather was terrible and matched my mood. After I got out of the plane and stepped into the airport, for the first time in my life, I experienced a paralyzing fear of uncertainty. When I walk out of the huge terminal building, I sat down on the cold bench and cried. If those benches could talk, I guess, they would tell us a thousand different stories about people like me: scared, uncertain, but at the same time intrigued and excited by this uncertainty.
I came to New York as an internship student just for one month. I did not seek the adventures, and I was not one of those people who are dreaming about giddy success and a career. I just wanted to make some money. However, would you believe or not, I did not know anybody in New York. Moreover, I did not know anyone in the entire United States. I did not know where I should go and what should I do. Despite I thought that I was in better place than thousands of those immigrants who came to America to start a new life without knowing whether this “new life” would work out for them, but they were ready to anticipate challenges that might never end. Yet, at the same time, I did catch a glimpse that, probably, many new immigrants could feel. “I am here. I am in New York. And I can do it. If not me then who?” I was connected on some level to the experience of all immigrants who arrive into New York for the first time. And the power of that connection affected me tremendously.
I stopped a yellow taxi, and gave the driver the address that I found in New York guidebook. After 20 minutes I saw something new and unforgettable for the rest of my life. It was Manhattan. It was my land of dreams. It was the moment that changes my entire life. Sitting in the cab, I was fascinated, and even overwhelmed by the majesty of Manhattan trough the taxi windows. In my entire life I have never felt so small and so happy. I was so impatient to step out of the taxi and walk down the streets of Manhattan that I could barely still sit.
When finally I arrived at my hotel, without unpacking my bags I ran outside and started walking. I did not know where I was going, but I was not concerned about getting lost. I just walked pointlessly, but with feeling that I had a certain destination in my mind. I passed by so many different people, and did not feel embarrassed to be looking at them so boldly. However, they seemed to pay no attention to me, or to each other. My mind kept absorbing all information. I saw so many different people and heard so many different languages; all at once. I saw the homeless and rich people, businessmen and delivery guys, artists and “freaks” were together on the streets of Manhattan, and I was a part of this crowd. How could I live without this place before?
I called my mother at the same night. “I would stay here forever,” I screamed into the phone. She cried, and she could not believe me saying that. It was a beginning of my long-lasting love affair with New York. I was no longer afraid; I felt dizzy from the happiness. It took me two month to collect all my college papers, and applied as a foreign transfer student to the Brooklyn College. I am here already for about three years, and I still have two more semesters to get my bachelor in Politic science. I do not afraid of anything because I live in the City of my Destiny!
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