Now, don't be sad New Yorkers. I had fun in your city. I certainly enjoyed meeting some New York Objectivists. But I didn't like New York too much; we just don't fit each other. My trip taught me to appreciate some things about my home here in GA.
1. Plants are just so lovely. Not just my own garden and yard, but the ones you find scattered all around here. Crepe myrtles in the medians. Grass growing between the buildings and the sidewalks and between the sidewalks and the streets. Pretty flower gardens at the entrance to each neighborhood or office park. Parks that flow seamlessly into the rest of the city. Real woods. Plants make my eyes feel rested, and they make me feel connected to the seasons and to the natural cycles of the earth.
2. There really can be too many people. So, I am very, very extroverted. I study in noisy restaurants and like to go out of the house and among people every day. But there were just too many people for me in NYC. I like how there are lots of people here, so near Atlanta, but there is still space to stretch out and feel expansive, even outside of my own house.
3. I like comfort. GA is very comfortable. It's full of big comfy chairs, tables spaced far apart, bench swings on porches and in parks, dirt paths so cushiony for my feet, large, convenient, attractive bathrooms that are open to the public, and polite, attentive service.
4. I like it when other people treat me like a human being. In NYC, people treat one another (strangers passing in the world, I mean) as obstacles to be gotten around as quickly as possible and wiped from the memory immediately. In GA, people look me in the eye, smile at me, speak a word or two, nod a greeting at me, try to avoid bumping me or stepping in my way, and even help me out when I need it. Once a man climbed under a parked car for me to get a sippy cup Livy had dropped out of her stroller. I love seeing the recognition on other people's faces that I am a human with needs and values and worth.
5. I like Southern men. I like it when they open the door for me. I like to be noticed and smiled at, not leered at like a faceless mannequin. I like how the men here slow their steps to let me pass through the door or up the stairs or into the elevator first. I like how the men here offer help in physical tasks, like putting luggage on an overhead rack. I like it when they offer me a seat on a subway (although even here, that's pretty rare).
6. I like houses. Apartments in NYC are just really freaking small. I like decks and porches and extra bathrooms and spare bedrooms and full size stoves and ovens and washers and dryers right in the laundry room. I like roofs over my head, not other apartments. I like the quiet streets and the backyards and the storage sheds. I like driveways. I like outdoor dogs.
So, yes, I am very happy to be home. But I will miss public transportation that is easy and reliable. And I will miss the food in Koreatown.
