New York

New York, otherwise known as the Big Apple, is a city that people all over the world often hear about, and long to visit. It attracts visitors with its bright lights, skyscrapers, culture, energetic upbeat lifestyle, and array of various people and races. It's certainly a must-see city, and if you're from the U.S. and have never been there, then you should be ashamed. One of the first questions the people ask me upon discovering my origins in the U.S. is if I've ever been to New York. Unfortunately, the answer is no, but I would very much like to visit this world famous cultural melting pot of a city one day.

Though many people believe New York City to be the capital city of the state of New York, this is not true. It is a common misconception. Despite this fact, New York is important on a global scale in areas such as commerce, architecture, museums, theaters, fashion, economy, the stock market, and culture.

Originally being a Dutch colony, later bought by the English and renamed after the Duke of York, the city has throughout American history been an important symbol for its proud nation. The city has indeed seen and experienced much, such as once being the capital of the nation, waves of arriving immigrants from all over the world, racial riots, the terrors of high crime rates, gangs, drug lords, the evolution of small neighborhoods into busy boroughs, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and the influence of many interesting people and various street artists.

Although it is today one of the largest cities in the world, New York was not always one city altogether. The five boroughs that it comprises of, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Manhattan, were once separate cities that grew so much as to result in their combining and forming today's hub of global activity.