Flashing lights and loud sounds always made my head turn and what greater place to make my head turn is the bright and beautiful city of New York. Many things and opportunities could happen in a city like this, so this will be my story of what changed for me and how that journey actually was.
To start off, Upward Bound is a college-related program that allows students with a certain GPA to join. This allows you to make new friends, catch up on work, and get college life experience by staying the whole summer in dorms with a bunch of fun and really good food to eat. Close to the end of the program we usually take a big trip with every student, which is always so fun when you have the right people with you along the way.
I will say it was very sweaty because it was summer time, but I was ready. As soon as our teachers announced we were heading to New York City everyone jumped for joy literally. I love NYC so much because of the persona and the way that everything is so big.
We all started packing bags with stress on our shoulders because we did not want to forget anything, so my friends and I stayed in my dorm room all night singing and dancing up until five o’clock in the morning, which was probably a mistake, but we did have a long journey ahead on a tour bus, which was only comfortable for a short amount of time. Finding the right spot on that type of bus can be tricky, but I will say it was good for the charger port.
Next, our entire class rushed to the bus that we saw outside. Of course my group got first pick because we were top of the class and what that gave us was the most room on the bus for the best experience. After driving for hours and many pit stops we had reached the big city, and let me tell you, it was one of the best visuals I have ever seen in my life: everything shining, many magical billboards, and famous street activities.
We did have a schedule planned out, but first was checking in at the hotel. After checking in we stayed in NYC for a couple of days and those days were all magic to me. The restaurants were amazing, the food was so delicious, and the ginger ale was the top drink for me. My favorite restaurant was the one where they sang to us and we all sang along if we knew the song.
Central Park and the museums that we attended also were the coolest things I have done in my life. Although it was extremely hot and sweaty, I couldn’t forget the fact that I was in the city of my dreams. I have always wanted to go to NYC and eventually move there, so taking this journey meant so much to me. My favorite part was dressing up each day, but the last day was special because we went to see the Broadway show named “Wicked” and that was by far the best of the best. The actors and actresses were astonishing and I could not get the songs out of my head once I left. It felt like such a rush going in and coming out.
After experiencing this summer I can officially say, I would in fact drive another seven hours just to have this much fun once again.