text: That’s the thing about this city, there's more to it than meets the eye. I was born into one of the richest families in Manhattan. I come from a long line of people who worked boring office jobs to make their way to the top of Corporate America with not a single creative bone in their body. I’ve lived in Manhattan my entire life; I’ve been to every museum it has to offer, gone to every charity ball or unnecessary banquet with my family, seen more than 10 Broadway shows, have visited the statue of liberty, and been to the twin towers. I’ve gotten everything I have ever wanted and more but at the end of the day it all feels meaningless. I live in my own little bubble, I don’t even feel like a real New Yorker, I’ve never even stepped foot on a subway. My whole life everything has been done for me and I have been sheltered from everything. I’ve only ever attended private school with other rich kids who have made being wealthy their entire personalities, I was never allowed to join sports or any other fun activities that I wanted to because my parents thought all my energy should go toward my education and following in my dad's footsteps, go to the same college he did, study the same thing he did and then eventually take over his company. Which is something I am not interested in, but no one seems to care. The only thing they allow me to do is ballet but that’s only because all the daughters of the rich snotty families are also ballet dancers, they think being in ballet with them will mean I finally make nice with them. That’s not going to happen, I don’t want to be friends with them, or always have everything done for me and have no independence. I want to be my own person and not have my last name or how much money is in my bank account be my identity. I am more than that, I want to be more than that. I have a passion for dancing, but not ballet dancing. I love hip-hop dancing, which is something my parents would freak out about if they knew. I always watch videos on YouTube of the newest hip hop moves and try to teach them to myself as best I can, but as long as I live in this house, under the Valenzuela roof I will never be able to pursue my passion. I can’t have my family attached to my hip because they are only weighing me down. But once I graduate high school, I won’t let them hold me back anymore. Ever since I found the school of my dreams, The Elite Artists Academy, where the best dancers, singers, and other artists of the country go, I’ve had a plan mapped out. Graduate high school, move out and get my own apartment go to school and graduate from the Elite Artists Academy, become a professional hip hop dancer, maybe do some music videos, dance on tour with a famous singer, and eventually settle down and start a family, hopefully with a fellow dancer. But of course, my family doesn’t know that, they would only try to hold me back. Today’s my 18th birthday and rather than letting my parents ruin my day with activities that I don’t want to do, I am making sure to leave before sunrise. I'm going to explore all the parts of New York that I’ve always wanted to see. Right now, I am getting ready to leave and am trying not to wake up my parents. I’m going to take the subway for the first time today, get a map, and find a way to visit all the places I want to go only using the subway. Hopefully, I don’t get lost. I bought my subway pass and got a directory of all the trains and where they take me, my parents must be waking up right about now, it sure feels good not to be there to smell my dad’s morning breath. I have to catch the J train to get to this coffee shop I’ve heard amazing things about in Brooklyn, they’re supposed to have the best bagels. I’m not used to waking up this early but it's worth it if I get to spend my birthday how I want to and now how my parents want to. Maybe I can take a nap while the train gets to my stop. Train rides sure are long. I took a nap, and the train is still going. Oh no! Of course, this happened, apparently, this train makes multiple stops not just the one in Brooklyn, I slept through mine and now it's taking me to Rochester which is the last stop. I have no idea what to do, Rochester wasn’t on my itinerary and I don’t know anyone from around there. I’m kind of freaking out. I’m crying with frustration when I feel a tap on my shoulder. Wow. Oh wow. It was the most attractive boy I had ever seen in my life. He asked me what was wrong, and I explained my situation, maybe with too many details. He asked me why I was crying, and I proceeded to tell him my life story including my plans to become a hip-hop dancer. To my surprise, we shared the same passion for dancing. It was a breath of fresh air meeting someone whose dreams didn't involve working in an office building. I had never met anyone like Evan, he was funny, kind, didn’t dress like he was going to a company board meeting, and unlike most people, I knew he had a personality. I was never the type to be bold when it came to boys but at this moment, I decided to take the risk. I asked him to spend the day with me, kind of be my tour guide and take me to all the must-see places in New York. And he gave me the best birthday present ever and said yes. We got off at the last stop and the first thing we did was go to the donut shop he knew about and I tried some of the best donuts I have ever tried in my life, the gourmet donut shop in my neighborhood has nothing on this place. From there we went to many different amazing places that I had never seen before, but my favorite we visited was the Dancer’s Fight Club. The Dancer’s Fight Club was a secret dance club where hip-hop dance crews and solo dancers went to compete in practice, compete in dance battles or just dance for fun and have a good time. The minute I walked in there it was love at first sight. All those talented people being able to express themselves freely and doing what they love without judgment, being part of a supportive community, it’s everything I've ever wanted. But my parents would never let me come to a place like this, especially considering how far it is from my house and from everything they value. I would love a place like this near my house, so I decided that to provide the manager with the funds to open another location in my neighborhood, as a secret of course. So, Lily and Harper, the managers of the Dancer’s Fight Club are going to open their new location, and when I can I’m going to help them open more and more new locations so that every dancer in this city who needs a place to express themselves feel safe and supported has one. And every day after school when my parents think I’m at my school’s math club I’ll be at the fight club, practicing and becoming the best dancer I can be to get into the Elite Dancer’s Academy. No matter how extravagant my birthday parties have been or how many expensive presents I've gotten, this has been the best birthday ever.