Samar's Travel Journal

Back in 2012,a student exchange program gave me the opportunity to travel to the US and attend the prestigious University of Arkansas for one academic year.While living there,I planned to travel during university breaks.I was able to tour 10 states.Even though I enjoyed traveling around all of the big cities, my favorite was undoubtedly NY.Catching sight of the skyline of NY from the plane was the most mesmerizing scene I've put my eyes on until now.It was New Years time and I was there with some friends.The first day,my friends and I were so absurdly excited to go to Times Square.It was the most crowded,exciting, and jaw dropping place I can ever imagine.I'm not going to lie and say we weren't confused and we knew what we were doing.We were so blinded by the restlessness of the place that we actually spent 6 hours exploring every corner,store,and screen.My friends and I were so overwhelmed we almost took 400 pictures that day, most of which were hilariously photo bombed by random people on the streets.The next day was the highlight of my life It was New Year's Eve and we were on our way to Times Square from the early morning.We had to rush through the pedestrians to get there early so that we'd get a close spot.And we succeeded.Our spot was right in the middle with the stage behind us.There were people from all over the world.I could hear numerous different languages, but one thing I was able to understand is that everyone was blissful and ecstatic to be there.We finally started to countdown the hours.My friends and I were dancing to the music of famous International singers.Hours passed,many pictures were taken,dozens of videos were recorded,and it was finally one minute before the clock stroke midnight. A magnificently loud voice counted down the seconds.As I watched the famous ball drop, fireworks started to illuminate the beautiful sky of NY, and the air above us and the ground underneath us were covered with a big wave of colorful confetti. I was speechless for a few minutes until my mind was able to absorb and comprehend what was going on. I couldn't help but shed a few tears of joy. I was very grateful I took part of that night and that my reality was more than I would've ever imagined.The last day was spent roaming around Manhattan and visiting the most famous tourist sites.My friends and I hopped on a 3-hour cruise that went around Manhattan Island.We were able to approach the Statue of Liberty which was mind-blowing and beyond description