New York City
2014
These were all taken in the late summer/autumn of 2014, when I was staying with one of my best friends in Queens. We had met the previous year when we were at school in Germany, and for her to take me in when I returned to America from Brussels was such a kind gesture- I love you, Rehana! Being in New York together was such a crazy time, but I learned so much about myself and the world in those few months. Going to museums that I had only ever read about, and visiting places I had only ever dreamed of when I was younger in Grand Haven. I can distinctly remember sitting in my bedroom in 2010 or 2011, thinking about what a treat it would be to go to New York and just ride the subway all day, and here I was able to do just that. I met up with old friends and made new ones, and even though my life in Brussels was ending, I felt so much potential and possibility springing forth out of New York.
2019
After a very very long five years, I returned to New York and was somewhat disappointed by how sanitized and commercialized everything seemed, but I'm also aware that people have been saying that since like, 1995, so maybe it was just that the original luster had worn off for me after having lived there for a few months. However, the purpose of this trip was not sightseeing (thus the sparse pictures), it was visiting friends, and that part never disappoints :)