I carry Manhattan in my heart and I always will.
It matters not how many years it’s been since I last set foot in the concrete jungle, because every sense is still attuned to its pulsing energy.
This week, I get the privilege of watching that place make its indelible mark on the hearts of my students, colleagues, and their families, as we traverse the inner workings of a city that truly never sleeps. That’s my favorite part of this whole thing—watching the sense of childlike wonder in their eyes, as we make memories together in some of the most magical and humbling ways. We’ve waited 18months for this expedition, and I’m thrilled it’s finally here.
My love affair with the Big Apple began in middle school Theatre, and I’ve since been seven different times. I feel like I’m meant to return there like a goose that instinctively flies to warmer climates, or a turtle who knows which island to return to after decades at sea.
Come to think of it—that’s how this trip feels—like I’m returning home…not to an address, but a state of mind—a creative Mecca that inspires me each and every time I set foot on its pavement, amid thousands of other souls conducting their busy nothings alongside me. This experience is both new and old to me—like a warm, familiar friend hugging me as a return.
Novels have been written about this city.
Anthems sung.
Movies, musicals, and tv series about the transformative nature of this city.
There is a kind of poetry in the footsteps, electricity of subway tracks, the calls of vendors on the streets. Even the pigeons feel it.
What do I want from our vacation, you ask, when I am putting such high hopes into the universe for it?
The thrilling spectacle of it, the gasps of awe from my pupils as they see all we have learned come to life in front of them, the joy of the chaperones as they watch that experience unfolding (and maybe just absorb a bit of the second-hand enthusiasm and feel it for themselves), and the reward of months of hard work finally seem through to completion.
I want every silly picture, tasty morsel, late-night city light, and tired feet moment there is, because—let’s face it, we’ve battled the world falling down around our ears these past two seasons of life and it’s time to dust off the cobwebs entombing our dreams.
This is the city that’s full of those, isn’t it? It’s time to claim some for ourselves, arm in arm, together.
Here’s to four days of happiness and a lifetime of memories made.
-Kindred Spirit-
10.3.22
Kindred Spirit: A Journey 