Spring has finally arrived in New York, the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and women are looking gorgeous on the streets of Manhattan. I may be apart from my loved ones, but nature can heal our pain. This week, I had the wonderful opportunity to go upstate for a hike in Cold Spring, visit the MET Cloisters to walk around the beautiful medieval gardens, and visit the Queens County Farm Museum. I have always enjoyed my own company and for most of my adult life lived by myself, but learning to live in New York has been the hardest, most challenging learning experience so far. It requires a skillful person to navigate this city. The most frightening as well as the most awe-inspiring aspects of life in New York are the native New Yorkers; their pace of life, their ambition, and perhaps their openness. Perhaps only in my hometown Lahore you would meet people as gritty and resilient as New Yorkers. I believe, in many ways, Lahore, like New York, is a tough city, and Lahoris tend to be unbreakable no matter how difficult the external environment may be. I remember growing up in Lahore, nothing broke our spirit, from martial laws to civil disobedience or threats of war, nothing deterred Lahoris from living their lives to the fullest. I have, in many ways, come home by moving to New York.
