Happy Wednesday, Everyone!
A creative topic was chosen for this week's Whatever Wednesday by Kali, and I must say, I had to sit and think about this one, somewhat like I did for this one.
I truly enjoy being a part of these posts each week with Shay and Alissa, and have found my looking forward to them and finding out the topic each week! :)
S O M E T H I N G Y O U T A K E F O R G R A N T E D
(image altered by moi)
Growing up I was fortunate to live near NYC, and my family would go in for adventures, dinners, shows and musicals quite often.
We would always drive in, and upon leaving the city to drive back home, my mother, without fail, would always say, "Please take it in and look at that beautiful skyline."
Being the adolescent and teenager I was at the time, I would often just nonchalantly look out at it, kind of with that yeah, yeah, I've seen it before attitude.
I, like so many, just assumed, which was a mistake and one of many great lessons in life, that the iconic Twin Towers would always be a part of the NYC skyline...that I could always see them, whether I looked at that particular moment or not.
I happened to be living in New York City on 9/11, in the midst of it all.
To this day, when I see the old skyline in pictures, movies, etc., I miss it and feel a moment of sadness.
I can't help but think back to those many times when I was encouraged to look at the skyline, and find myself truly wishing I had taken it in more fully...instead of for granted.
This goes hand in hand with not fully exploring cities and places I have lived, and somewhat taking for granted what each has to offer while I'm there because I just figure I can do it later.
It really is important to be a tourist in your own city, especially, when you live somewhere so many dream to one day visit.
I'm so lucky to live in New York City, once again, and before too long, I plan on doing those things I didn't the last time I lived here.
Like going up to the top of the Empire State Building...I pass it all the time, but it has kind of just become another building in the city, as so many do when you live in them.
Ultimately, I have taken historic skylines and structures for granted...something I plan on changing moving forward.
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