For many of us who weren’t born in NYC, our first taste of this great city was probably on TV and in movies. Sex and the City was the show that introduced me to NYC. Yes, the show was preposterous at times. How did Carrie afford her fabulous apartment with a walk-in closet on the Upper East Side? It was rent-controlled, yes, but still so unrealistic. And there were the Manolo Blahniks. She owned like 5 million pairs of them.

Despite all the poetic licenses the show took, it had a seminal influence on how I viewed the city. To me, the show wasn’t just pure entertainment. It showed me what being a 30-something single New York woman could be like, and I wanted that same freedom to live as I pleased in a city that offered something to everyone.

Every time I walk by the Manolo Blahnik store, I feel oddly nostalgic. I used to watch the show and dream of moving here so I could experience its wonder every day. And although I don’t live in an UES apartment with a walk-in closet or party at fancy clubs with my girlfriends, I found my way to New York somehow and get to experience NYC and all its glory and flaws every single day.