It's the Queen City
- Jerry Yan
- Jun 5, 2018
- 4 min read
I mostly spend time doing things on my own, but it can get lonely for me sometimes. One of the moments that makes me feel I'm not left out is when a friend comes to visit.
My friend Megan, who now goes to Cornell University, messaged me one day and told me if she could visit. That made my dull night exciting all of a sudden. I said yes of course, and was planning the things I could show her in the South. It was her first time here.
We spent a day in uptown Charlotte. Although the light rail has already opened in March, I wouldn't just ride the light rail and spend time in the city by myself. I've done it once on St. Patrick's Day, but that experience didn't go well. I thought I would have enjoyed the time all by myself, but the truth is, not at all. Everybody else was paired up in groups that wore green, drinking and cheering with each other. I tried to appreciate the view of the whole Charlotte area via light rail, but everybody else kept interrupting me and reminding me how alone I was. Then I started to feel lonely and insecure.
The light rail felt like a house party that day, and I was the wallflower at that party. It wasn't like I don't have friends, or I'm opposed to making some, it was just that my expectation of the light rail was different than that in reality. And after all, it's always a bit risky to go places by oneself.
But the rides after that one all went well. My birthday crew and I went to NoDa by light rail, and it was entertaining. Not only did I chat with them all along, but I took this one picture that I really like.
This time it was with Megan. Megan is the kind of friend that I can hold intellectual conversations with and talk dirty. Like what old friends do, we talked about people we meet at our schools and plans for the summer and the future. When we reached uptown and saw the skyscrapers, she commented that Charlotte is so clean and at certain angles, it somewhat looks like Singapore.
We got brunch at Local Loaf inside 7th Street Market. Megan is a huge brunch person, so that was the place for her. She indulged her classic Chicken and The Egg plate. My Steak and Egg was alright though.
Afterward, we wandered around uptown. We got a few photo shoots at The Green. It was such a tourist thing to do considering that I know the area well, but there's nothing wrong with documenting my day with a camera.
We then ended up getting our afternoon drinks at Not Just Coffee. NJC is probably the most aesthetically-pleasing cafe in uptown. You just get your coffee from the counter, sit in the high chair, and watch the traffic flow. Then before you even realize it, the whole afternoon is gone.
(The Matcha Lemonade was so unique that I gulped it instantly.)
We were craving for some Korean BBQ, so we walked to Let's Meat near Bland Light Rail Station. Even though most of my friends from UNCC didn't like it, we think it was fabulous. We loved it when the waitress flipped the pork belly on the iron and showed its cooked, crispy side drizzling with oil. The squid and shrimps were fresh as well. We ended up ordering five rounds of meat and indulged every piece of them! (Sorry for not taking one picture because I was so busy eating :p)
After the BBQ, we took a stroll around the neighborhood. I didn't know if it was God who made that moment perfect: the partly cloudy weather as the background, the mild breeze serving as the natural AC, and the bourgeois South End apartments appearing one after another. I started imaging that if I live in this neighborhood, that if I work a high-paying job in Uptown Charlotte, that if I have friends who I let them stay and are willing to do the same for me... This was one of the moments that I feel infinite. I only wished if time could have stopped there, just a tiny little bit slower.
But I don't think there's ever any "if" in life. The past stays in the past, and what's been done in that time remains unchangeable. We can only do better and do more in the time ahead of us to make up the regrets we buried.
I regret not taking the time to explore this beautiful city during my time here. Only when I'm about to leave did I realize its illuminating beauty. I complained too much about what's missing: not enough authentic Chinese restaurants, not enough shopping malls, not enough hangout places... Yet I never praised how clean Uptown is, how lively the nightlife here can get over the weekend, how warm and polite the people here are compared to other cities...
However, I tell myself, there'll always be a next time. In the next few years, I may not be a resident in the Queen City, but I'll come back for sure. I don't know what I'll be when I'm back yet, but we'll see.
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