August is the final stretch of summer. While many people go on last-minute vacations before school starts, I stayed local, and it turned out to be a packed month in New York.

Be Our Guest

My sister and I hosted a friend visiting from Atlanta for a weekend, which was the perfect excuse to play tourists and indulge in the city’s food scenes.

Tennis, Tennis, Tennis

This month I’ve been especially dialed into my tennis game. We’ve been blessed with great weather for playing tennis the past few weeks. I play with my sister on the weekends or a group I joined through the Central Park Tennis program on Monday and Tuesday evenings. It took me two years of learning the sport to find a group of consistent hitting partners. Tennis comes with challenges beyond the court, one of the biggest being simply finding someone at your level who’s committed to playing together. I’m grateful to have found my tennis group here in the city.

Not only I’ve been playing tennis, I also got to watch greatness up close at the US Open Fan Week. My sister and I opted for Fan Week instead of the main draw–free entry and smaller crowds. We explored the big stadiums, picked up some merch, and tried the famous Honey Deuce cocktail (worth the hype). Seeing the precision, power, and dedication of pros preparing for one of the biggest tournaments of the year (they’re called Grand Slams in the tennis world) was inspiring.

Art

Outside of tennis, I fit in some cultural time too. At the beginning of the month, my mom and I went to the Whitney’s Free Friday Night to see Amy Sherald’s exhibit. We were mesmerized by Sherald’s bold use of color and reimagined takes on Americana–centering African Americans as the main subjects.

Later in the month, I took a Wednesday off to check out the reopened Frick Collection. The last time I was there was 16 years ago when I visited New York as a high schooler from Georgia with my church youth group. I was disappointed this time–the staff were chilly, and the art struck me as more of an ostentatious display of wealth than an invitation into beauty.

A Solo Picnic

At my sister suggestion, I went picnicking in Central Park one evening. She saw some single guys hanging out after work, but spoiler–I didn’t meet anyone. But I found a sense of empowerment in going outside to read a book and enjoy a simple girl dinner just because I wanted to. As a single woman, there’s a certain freedom in these small acts, without obligations to anyone else’s schedule.

August was well spent out and about in New York, the city I’ve been calling my home for 6 years (I recently celebrated my sixth anniversary of living here!).