Every winter, I get touched with a bit of seasonal depression. It’s something that started in my teens and hits me every year, to varying degrees. Even though the weather has been relatively mild this winter, my mood has been terrible. Fortunately, I figured out an effective treatment for my winter blues years ago.
I like to go somewhere warm and sunny every winter. Just escaping to someplace warm for a week or two can work wonders on my mood. I always come back feeling better and it helps make the rest of the winter tolerable. Last year, for example, I spent Christmas week in Venice Beach, CA. It was just long enough to give my mood the boost it needed to get me through the winter.
I had all of last week off. I’d taken it off with the intention of going somewhere warm, sunny, and sandy. As I typically do, I waited until the last minute to book my accommodations – and I’m glad I did. When I checked the weather all over the country the day before I was going to leave, I saw that it wasn’t going to be warm and sunny anywhere all week.
With a week to myself but nowhere sunny to disappear to, I had to decide how to spend my time. I thought about just staying home and getting a lot of work done. But, I’d already had it in my head that I was going somewhere and wanted to get away for at least a few days. Since there was nowhere sunny to go to, I went with the next best thing: New York City.
I love New York. The city that never sleeps is perfect for the writer who rarely sleeps. I was able to find a reasonably-priced hotel just a couple blocks from Times Square so I booked it and, twenty-four hours later, I was in the center of the Big Apple.
Finding Inspiration in Midtown Manhattan
It’s hard… No, it’s impossible to not find inspiration in New York City. Even in the dead of winter, the city is alive and thriving at all hours of the day and night. While I wasn’t expecting my trip to the Big Apple to snap me out of my winter funk, I was hoping that it would at least help – and it did.
New York inspires me. Big, bustling cities in general inspire me and New York is the biggest, most-bustling city in the country. The skyscrapers, the diversity, all the lights, the food – all of it inspires me. It makes me dream bigger, raising the bar higher for myself, and the grandeur of the city is almost intoxicating.
I thought about finding someone to go with me but, ultimately, decided on a solo adventure and I’m glad that I did. A lot of people don’t like to travel alone, but I love it. I don’t prefer it, exactly. Not usually, anyway. But, every once in a while, I love a good solo trip. There’s something about being by yourself in an far-away place that really lets you know what you’re made of.
The last time I went to New York City was 4th of July week of 2017. I went with my then-girlfriend and, by that point in our relationship, we were both pretty-much done with each other. A week after we got back, our 15-month relationship came to an end. Before that trip, it had been over a decade since I’d been to NYC.
I have to say, going to New York as a single guy is a whole different experience than going with a girlfriend. I know that some people have a hard time with online dating, but I’m a fan and have had a lot of success with it over the past few years. In New York, with literally millions of people within walking distance, it’s almost too easy.
Without going into any detail, I’ll just say that I had a good time. It wasn’t hard finding women to explore the city with. I spent most of my time in the city by myself, but did enjoy getting to know a couple of new friends.
The best part of my trip, though, had nothing to do with making new friends – it had to do with reconnecting with an old friend. My friend Philippe from high school lives in Brooklyn and works in Manhattan. We shared all kinds of adventures together back in the day but hadn’t seen each other in over fifteen years.
We agreed to meet at Tom’s Restaurant, aka Monk’s Diner from the TV show Seinfeld. I like to visit places like that, spots from television shows that I’ve enjoyed over the years. It was so cool seeing the “Restaurant” sign on the outside of the diner, but it wasn’t nearly as cool as seeing my old friend inside it. Philippe and I caught up and reminisced about the old days. It was great. I love reconnecting with old friends and Philippe shared a lot of good times together.
Something I like to do whenever I’m in a different city, I like to go to the top of a tall building for the view. When I was in New York in 2017, I went up to the top of the Empire State Building. This time, I decided to peep the city from the top of the Rockefeller Building. The view was absolutely breathtaking. I have to say, I thought it was even better than the view from the Empire State Building. Next time I’m in New York, I want to go up to the top of One World Observatory.
The whole trip was great. There were a million little things that made it wonderful. The people. The food. The sights. All of it. This getaway didn’t really do much for my wintery mood, but it did refill my inspiration tank, which was all that I could ask for.
Inspiration creates motivation. That’s why I’m always trying to stay inspired, trying new things, going to new places, and meeting new people. And, not only are those things good for inspiration, they’re good for my writing in general. The more you experience, the broader your perspective. The broader your perspective, the better you are at being able to put yourself in your character’s shoes.
All in all, it was a great trip. New York wasn’t warm or sunny. In fact, it snowed one day and I spent most of it in my hotel room on my laptop. But, it recharged my motivational batteries and filled me full of inspiration – which is something you can never have too much of.
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