The first time I visited New York was 11 years ago in 2014. I was a decade younger, my hair wasn’t as grey as it is and I was a lot more naive. I was a boy from Bombay, learning about the world. New York was towards the end of my trip, and I was running low on money. The Indian Rupee didn’t go too far in the US, especially in the Big Apple! I had a great time, walking around Manhattan, exploring Central Park and grabbing a hot dog from a vendor.

I walked past the Guggenheim museum, keen to go in. Tickets were ~$30, not outrageous but I was strapped for cash. I knew the practical thing to do was to skip it, so I did (Always been a realist unfortunately)

I didn’t think much of it, I felt bummed for exactly 30 seconds before getting distracted by the next shiny thing (It is New York after all) In fact I hadn’t thought about this moment at all for a good 11 years.

I ended up in New York again last week and over the weekend, on a whim I decided to go to the MoMA. Just whipped my phone out, bought a ticket and walked in. I remembered the Guggenheim incident when I was standing in front of an Andy Warhol piece (Gold Marilyn Monroe if you’re curious)

I still gotta go to the Guggenheim, but this time I won’t be doing a cost-benefit analysis about a ticket to the museum versus a subway ride (One hopes!)

Life objectively continues to get better, so hang in there :)