It’s not as if I haven’t been here before, that it was unexpected by any means but movement is key in the city that never sleeps. I’m sitting here, battling jet lag, and after one full day in New York City, I’m fairly exhausted. Despite this feeling of sapped energy levels and the collecting shades of circles under my eyes, I’m content with it. While I may look like an extra from The Walking Dead, I’m feeling alive.

I’ve never been one to be happy with an extended holiday, lying on a beach or beside a pool. While I don’t mind a few hours, maybe a day or two of it, it bores me and has for as long as I can remember. This is why New York allows me to thrive. If you stop in this sprawling metropolis of colours, rich smells, and sounds, you will be trampled and left behind. Manhattan, in particular, teaches you to be more observant, noticing hundreds of things around you while you keep pace with the constant thrum of pedestrian traffic. Anyone who has seen me in a shopping center or busy Melbourne CBD street knows that I cannot stand slow walkers. My constant weaving through traffic is something that Kyrie or Steph, or even the recently returned Man U maestro Mkhitaryan, would be proud of.

At the same time, my accommodation has given me the environment to, when needed, pause my momentum and assess what my plan is for the remainder of the day. Being my first time travelling solo, it’s been unusual to not be pressured by a schedule or timetable that a family holiday might pose. While part of me feels as if I haven’t done enough, it’s only day 2 in this wonderful city, and every block of the city gives me something new to learn.

While I will admit I have already started to feel slightly lonesome, it’s something that immediately dissipates when I emerge into the street and join the traffic. Capturing footage on my camera, meeting people at stores who are just interested in having a chat; the pace at which I am travelling is a steady, forward-looking one. While I’m no doubt counting down to when my jet lag has completely left my system, there is no doubt that my movements in New York are going forward. Unless I accidentally walk past a sneaker store, it would be blasphemy to not have a look.