My Favorite New York City Museum: The American Museum of Natural History

Today I went to the museum of Natural History, which is located on the Upper West Side right by Central Park. The area is my favorite in the city, and when you go to school in New York, Sunday's are for city adventures.

One of my favorite pictures from the day!

The museum of Natural History is a must-see when you live or are even just visiting the city. It's absolutely stunning, and they have everything from dinosaurs, to an amazing planetarium, to every kind of mammal and sea-life creature you could imagine. Experiencing it is so much cooler than reading about it, and what's awesome about going to Fordham is that so many classes incorporate real; hands-on activities that make your classwork come to life. Whether it's to the planetarium at the Natural History Museum for your Astronomy class, or to the Met for your art-history class, almost every class you take can be applied in some sort of interesting way in Manhattan, which makes things so much more interesting!

After getting lunch at a little cafe on the Upper West Side, we went to the Museum for a few hours and got lost in the exhibits, there's just so much to see. I appreciate experiences like these a lot because I know that my friends at other schools in more rural or even suburban areas just don't get to go these kind of places. I took plenty of pictures of course, and we got ice cream before we went home. It was a simple day, but a very memorable one nonetheless, and I can thank the best city in the world for that.

New York is full of the best surprises

One of my favorite things to do in New York is to walk around on sunny days and enjoy the incredible weather. This is especially enjoyable now, as the seasons begin to change and Fall starts to set in. It won't be long before these summery, lovely days are gone, and I like to make the most of them while they last. My favorite area of the city to wander is lower Manhattan. From the Village to SoHo to the Lower East Side, there is always something exciting waiting around every corner. These neighborhoods are perfect for a leisurely afternoon stroll, and there are always new cafes, coffee shops, bookstores, galleries, and other surprises waiting to be discovered.

The beginnings of a beautiful day

Yesterday was one of those days where the city demanded to be explored. The weather was perfect, and I had very little work to do. My dad also came to New York for a surprise visit. We headed downtown, no particular destination in mind. It was a gorgeous day in the city, quite possibly one of the last true summer days this year. After a quick brunch near Bryant Park, we headed down to the Village, with the intention of going to a few art galleries. On our way there, we walked through Washington Square Park, where we stopped to watch some street performers dance. They were incredibly talented and interspersed their performance with jokes. While we were enjoying their performance, I was pulled in to help with a stunt!

Performers in Washington Square Park

The dancers announced to the crowd that they would be jumping over the heads of the people they pulled from the crowd. I was, understandably, quite nervous. However, my nerves were quite unnecessary, as the trick was over before I even realized it had started. This is what I love about New York. Your day will always be filled with surprises, and you never know what lies around the next corner. We did wind up at the art galleries we intended to visit, where the art dealers tried to convince me I needed an original Picasso for my dorm room. I very rarely make plans when I decide to have a "City day" exploring downtown, as experiences like the ones I had this weekend may not happen otherwise.

Right after I found out people would be jumping over my head

Walking through the Village

What does Back To School mean for you?

When discussing back to school plans and events for college students, it’s pretty standard to hear about football games, pep rallies, dances, and on campus activities. Back to school for a Fordham Ram, though, is all of that and more.

What I love so much about going to Fordham here at Rose Hill is that we get all of those super college-y fun experiences like basketball games, raffles, school sponsored dinners and events, we also have the subway, metro north and the Ram Van all at our finger tips to take us to Manhattan, one of the most fun places in the world (I am biased, though).

So what did back to school mean for me? Yes, it did mean sporting events and wearing our school colors and buying books and catching up with friends. I think a lot of college kids would give you similar answers such as those across the country. But, back to school for me also meant finding new and super yummy restaurants, getting the best gelato in little Italy, perfecting my skills in hailing cabs, and some of the best museums and street fairs in the world.
 

Exploring my favorite city!

Sure, you can’t deny that you can get a great education somewhere that isn’t in New York City. But I feel as though my Fordham education is not only fantastic academically on campus, but the element of the city gives me access to outlets and opportunities that my friends at state schools or suburban campuses simply don’t have.

One of my new favorite restaurants, Freemans!

 Next weekend I’m going record shopping with my friends in SoHo and then to see a play. What are YOUR weekend plans in college going to be?