This Summer, NYC Belongs to its Youth
We’re making up for lost time…
by JULIA SHORT ★ AUGUST 8, 2021
On any given night before COVID-19 hit the streets of New York City, there wasn’t a single quiet block. The streets were lit up… not just with the light shining from oncoming cabs, Ubers, street lights, and billboards, but with people. Everywhere.
COVID-19 tore through the city early on in the pandemic, and what were once streets that never slept turned into blocks without a purpose. New York had almost lost its only form of life. Many people moved out of the city to avoid getting sick, with some moving because they were no longer able to afford the rent for their apartments and businesses. New York City was dying.
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But don’t let this crush your post-grad NYC dreams; NYC IS BACK, BABY. Since the beginning of summer 2021, slowly but surely, people have begun to see life returning to the city and its nightlife. 20-somethings staying out until 4 am, dancing, drinking, and kissing strangers became the norm once again, with NYC taking the same (but different) form of life. This summer has seemingly belonged to New York’s youth.
If you feel like you’ve missed out on your last teenage year into your early 20s (same, sis), the energy going into this summer was at an all-time high. Now that I’m vaccinated and am most definitely in the hottest years of my life (c’mon…hot girls get vaccinated), I am ready once more to hit the streets of New York in short dresses and low cut shirts.
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Walking through the streets of New York at the ripe time of 1:30 am, everyone is so full of life. Smoking, mad-dashing from place to place, or eating pizza on street corners, the fashion trends at an all-time high (obviously showing as much skin as possible), and with restrictions beginning to lift throughout the summer, paves the way for the nightlife to thrive.
As a member of Gen-Z and the up and coming 20-somethings in New York, losing out on your early 20s is, to put it quite plainly, a DISASTER. And that is how every other person feels. Losing out on my 20s and losing more than a year of my young adulthood and basically watching it crumble before me? Not what I would have expected. And this is exactly why this summer has shaped up to be the most anticipated for our generation. Not only just because of the growing social scene, but a creative rebirth in a city formerly run by the wealthy elite and its older generation.
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Not only has the growing social scene been a major change in this summer’s agenda, the so-called “Summer of Love” (as stated by the New York Times), has been in full effect. With restrictions being lifted and everyone starting to be a bit more lax about who they see, making out and hooking up with strangers is 100% a must. Parks, benches, street corners, clubs, bars, and intersections are just a few of the many locations I have seen people making out…and absolutely holding nothing back. Everyone has been depressed at the lack of physical touch that we have all experienced in the last year, so much as everyone wants in on some of the action. Even walks of shame at a bright and shiny 9 am have been popping up once again (absolutely NO shame in this).
When thinking back on the past year, and the hell it gave all of us, you have to remember that after tragedies, there is always a rebirth. The culture shocks that electrified all of us this past year have made me realize that this is just how society needs to grow again and get back to what it once was. Although, New York is a different type of normal once more.
As a New York native that is frequently involved in its social scene, seeing the city come back to life in a brand new light has been nothing short of a miracle. Making up for lost time will of course take a while, but it's extremely reassuring as we wait for what comes next.