How New York Changed Me /  by Mirena Rhee

New York City changed how I look at furniture. I trained my retinas, as Dali put it, on the Metropolitan Museum of Art and on the galleries in Chelsea. The couches there were worthless compared to what was on the walls. I could never look at a piece of wood, thinking that it's something I should own and put in my room. I also learned that the most interesting theater was on the street. I always wondered why tourists bought expensive tickets when it was hilarious on the sidewalk. Or on the train. The L train was practically a costumed party. It's hard for me to even go to a party, knowing that outside my apartment in New York was the most entertaining show in the world.