Author: Lucy Liang
Age: 13
Travelling. The most annoying thing in the world. Jet lag, annoying taxi drivers, and finally, accidentally using someone else’s toothbrush. But this time, it was to New York. I’ve always wanted to go there. The only things I knew about New York was that the Times Square and that the Statue of Liberty is there. That was enough to make me want to go.
We woke up at 6:00 AM after the first night. The cruise around the Statue of Liberty was windy and lengthy, but I saw Lady Liberty, and that was kind of why I boarded the boat. Oh my god, our family photo from the cruise was so awful. My sister looked bored as hell, my mom had her eyes closed, and my dad and I had these derpy smiles that just made the entire thing look even more ridiculous.
And of course, there was Times Square. There were a ton of shows there that I wanted to see. Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, The Lion King, so many more. But we didn’t see a single one of them. Instead, we walked around the huge place, staring in awe at the crowded streets, large colorful signs, and enthusiastic actors, advertising events on the streets.
Sleeping was impossible. Our hotel was right next to Times Square, so we had to deal with endless noise. There was also this water dispenser in the corner of our room, and it would gurgle every five minutes. It was also incredibly bright, even with the curtains drawn.
There was also the Manhattanhenge. Once a year, the sun aligns perfectly with a street off Times Square to create this perfect little scene, and we were lucky enough to be there for it. And guess what? There was a cloud in front of the sun. A freaking cloud.
I had totally forgotten about Central Park. After spending half an hour getting there, we spent the rest of the day walking around the park, buying food on the streets and jumping on the play structures. We completely drained our energy, and the warm weather really wasn’t helping. By the end, the four of us were so tired; instead of walking back to our hotel, we called a taxi.
I didn’t get to see any of the Broadway shows. I didn’t get to go up the Statue of Liberty. I didn’t see the Manhattanhenge. But I was definitely going back to New York again someday, so that I could see all those things. After all, my family IS going to make me go on a family vacation again. And when I go again, I’m going to make sure I use the blue toothbrush.