“The center of the world is not New York. The center of the world is wherever you are able to do what you want.”
-Henry, April 2016
The winter snow has gone. New York, as a place that enjoys the well-marked seasons, has arrived with its spring look. I acknowledge this when I wake up one morning in March. The sunlight shines in through the window. I see green leaves with the blue sky as a backdrop. I walk down the street and find Callery Pear standing side by side, full blossoms of little white flowers. A smile spreads across my face spontaneously. I feel blessed by nature.
It is spring, not a gloomy and foggy spring; instead, a warm and bright spring. A spring that brings hope and life. Besides the blossoming little white flowers of Callery Pear, there are Crabapples, Eastern Redbuds, Hawthorns, Cherry Trees, Magnolias, and Almond trees also blooming. All flowers are in a similar tone of white and pink, like the colour of the cheeks of a young girl. Vines climb along the walls of houses, and front yards are planted with tulips, lilies and hydrangea. One time, I passed by Bryant Park looking up at the green net woven by the leaves from the surrounding tall London Planetrees. I just stood there and looked up for an hour, and my heart blossomed.
There is a saying in Chinese, “gather the blooming flowers while you may”. How could I not want to collect the beautiful flowers along the street? But instead of damaging the beautiful flower set up, I visit Central Park and enjoy its nature. I head off for a picnic with my classmates.
We first stop by Trader Joe’s at 72nd Street and Broadway. I guess the California supermarket chain Trader Joe’s is the most popular supermarket in New York, at least it is my favorite. Self-branded products are wrapped with a nice vintage style packaging, and at a friendly price. We pick up the pecan blue cheese dip, vegetable sticks, crackers, prosciutto, arugula, fruit, and two bottles of rosé.
From Trader Joe’s we take a 10-minute walk east and arrive at Central Park. I am sad to find out that Sheep Meadow is still closed for winter break and will only be open from April to October. So we randomly pick a green field nearby, and set up for the picnic. Since it’s prohibited to drink outdoors in New York, we hide our rosé in a paper bag and drink sneakily. Lying on the grass, we enjoy the afternoon with the sun shining on our skin until the sun sets and it gets cold.
With April comes showers. The final week of school is sheltered with rain. Perhaps I shouldn’t presume there is always a blue sky in New York. Relatively good competes with relatively bad. It seems the rain is going to continue for one more week. When the sun comes back, will the sea of cherry blossoms in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens still be in bloom? Or will the season be finished?
