I recently went on a trip to the Big Apple. Now, New York to me has always been this faraway land–a city made of nothing but dreams. We took the plane, and then landed– the time flying away like nothing, and then we were there. Popularly coined, a concrete jungle, New York was exactly that. Me being me, obsessed with my soundtracks, curated an entire playlist, which featured songs like “I Like Me Better” and “New York” from the musical Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York). Bonus points if you know the reason behind the song by Lauv.

Now, as we took a cab from the Newark Airport, we got to get a whole sightseeing portion. From Manhattan to our Hotel in Queens, there was such a charm to the city. The buildings were old and a little rundown, but the graffiti on the walls gave them such a pop of color. Of life. The buildings scaled higher than we could see in the car windows, the right side was filled with piers and docks, while ahead of us was a road and pedestrians. And then suddenly, I could picture myself walking there. Living there.

The realization that I was in the city I had wondered about hadn’t set in yet. It didn’t set in on my first subway ride, nor on the second. Instead, and as iconic as this may be, the second I stepped into Times Square, my world shifted. It suddenly struck me. A sense of belonging, of awe, and wonder, of appreciation and curiosity plagued me.

By this point, you are already probably wondering why the hell I’m explaining all this to you. This entire vacation has got me thinking about Murphy’s Law. For those who don’t know, Murphy’s Law basically states— in a very, very rudimentary sense— that whatever may happen, or rather whatever should happen, will happen. New York University is my dream school. I first saw it in the third movie of the “To All The Boys I Love Before” series, and I fell in love with the way the main character, Lara Jean, fell in love with the school. And, as the years progressed, I started seeing it more and more often, in books I read, reading about alumni, looking up courses and programs for school, and career planning, all of it. But, through this trip, I didn’t get the opportunity to visit the college. It just didn’t present itself. However, we got to do multiple other things that just fell into our hands like gifts from heaven. 

Our original reason for going to New York was to see the US Open, one of the four major tennis Grand Slams. Now, we were originally only supposed to go Sunday evening and then Monday morning, but as luck would have it, we stayed the whole day and night of the 24th, and then even got to spend the 25th at the grounds as well. Moreover, we won a ticket upgrade on the 25th, putting us in the first row of the Grandstand arena! We got to watch two amazing players, front and center, and this made me think about how the things that were meant to happen, really do. Even though I was not NYU destined (this year), I got to see multiple things I could not have even possibly dreamed of.

Which brings me to the final point I’m actually trying to make. Sometimes, as cliché as this may be, we need to let fate work its magic. Now, I’m a very big believer in your decisions fueling your fate. Life just isn’t that improbable. There are nearly seven billion people on this planet, and you just happen to be one of them. You live in a certain place, you have certain influences, and you have certain aspirations. You have certain experiences; life-changing ones. I think that the actions and decisions we make are unknowingly fueled by Murphy’s Law. Whatever must happen, will. Now, make no mistake. I’m not asking you to go to a Tarot Card reading or believe in Astrology. I’m asking you to believe in your decisions. I’m asking you to believe in timing. I’m telling you to think about your life and the decisions that have brought you up to the point you are at now. I’m telling you to, if you don’t believe in anything else, believe in yourself.