One of the best things about being in New York City is walking down the street with your iPod blasting dramatic music into your ears and pretending that you are in a movie. If you have visited New York and for some reason have not done this, you are missing out.
New York is such a dramatic place anyway, and they set tons of movies and TV shows here, so it is only natural to feel as though you too are in a movie when you find yourself in the big apple. Don’t fight it; go with it. It is super fun! And it can be any kind of movie you want. Are you feeling sad and lonely in the big city? Just throw on an appropriate soundtrack (I would recommend “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” by The Beatles, or almost anything by James Taylor or Counting Crows – “Holiday in Spain” or “Sullivan Street” maybe? “Fire and Rain?”) and walk sadly down the street, feeling the camera on you at all times.
The camera part is pretend; you have to imagine that part. But it’s very easy to feel as though there is one there, tracking your every move. And you don’t have to be in a sad movie. Maybe you are the hero in a crime caper, or an action flick. In this case, put on “Black Betty” by Ram Jam (or “Stop the Rock” by Apollo 440 if you prefer. “Short Skirt, Long Jacket” by Cake is also acceptable) and let your inner rebel-with-a-heart-of-gold ooze out of you and onto the street as you stride confidently by the other pedestrians, who may or may not give you funny looks due to your new sense of fame and importance.
You can do this for any kind of movie really, that’s not the important part. Heck, put on the theme from “Beetlejuice” if you want (thank you Danny Elfman!), and pretend you are an hilarious ghost back to haunt the local New Yorkers. The important part is that you feel awesome and dramatic and excited to be wherever you are going.
Now, I’m not sure about this because I haven’t tried it out yet, but this may work in other places besides NYC. It seems reasonable to assume that other favorite movie settings could have a similar effect on you. Los Angles and Washington, D.C. for instance. I’m not sure how this will play out back in Vermont. It might be hard to release your inner badass to the tunes of Jet while walking past a cow pasture, but it might be possible. All I know is that in New York, every emotion seems right, and life just feels like a movie.