Berna, 34

It's been almost 10 years since I moved to NYC and this was the first year I saw the cherry blossoms in Central Park. It wasn't at all what I made it out to be. A couple of pink trees in an otherwise still barren park. It was nice though. It reminded me that spring was here again.

I think it's attitudes like this that have stopped me from seeing a lot of the city. The restaurants aren't all that good. The museums barely have anything of interest. I don't know when or how I became such a negative person. I know this and yet I feel the way I do about these flowers. People run through them and take pictures for Facebook or Instagram and I want to scoff. What is so cool about it?

The time goes by so quickly and I feel more and more alone. There is life all around me but all I have is my life. When I came home today I started searching for pictures of my ex-girlfriend, the one I had when I appreciated life a little more. She moved to New York with me when we graduated college. I wonder where she is now and I resist the urge to look on LinkedIn. I can kind of picture her face but also can't at the same time. Naturally I went to find the photos on my phone, 8 years old. Eight years ago, in the park, under the same pinkish trees I had just passed. Somehow I had totally forgotten.

I don't want to forget this year.