I was a bit of a taxi cab addict when I lived in the city. While I tried to use public transportation when it was an easy route, I’d much rather just hop in a cab and let it take me to the place I needed to go. Over the course of five years I’ve come across many different cab drivers. Many times, I’d hop into the cab and immediately start having a conversation with the driver. Sometimes it was small chit-chat, but a lot of the time it was about getting to know them and a little bit about their life. We’d talk about kids, where they grew up, what their goals are for life. Really deep coversations that sometimes left me wanting the ride to last just a little bit longer because I wanted to know more. New York City is not short of interesting people and it’s true that everyone comes to the city for a reason, and it’s sometimes fascinating to find out what that reason is.

A couple of weeks ago we went into the city for the weekend for work. MacKay took the kids around the city visiting our old neighborhood and some of their favorite museums while I did what I needed to get done for work. On Saturday night I had a dinner that went well into the night so I knew I’d grab a cab on the way home rather than taking the train.

I got into the cab and told him where I was headed. He quickly asked me which way I wanted to take, but being unfamiliar with downtown Manhattan, I just said he can go the way he feels is best. He sat there for a little bit and had to think about it. He admitted that downtown gets him a little confused as well. Once the numbers turns into names and the roads aren’t much of a grid, it’s easy to get a bit bewildered. It was then that our conversation started. He’s only been in the United States for a couple of years which is why it took him a little bit to figure out the best way for me to get to where I was going.  He is originally from Morocco and came to the United States after winning the Moroccan Visa Lottery. All of his family are there or in France and he decided to come over to the U.S. to make a life for himself.

As someone who is incredibly close to my family (I talk to them at least once a day on the phone,) my heart hurt for him.

“Don’t you miss them?” I asked.

“Of course,” he replied. “But I told myself when I come over here that I can never look back.”

It turns out he’s living on his own and going to school to do something in computer science. He drives a taxi all night to pay to go to school during the day.

I expressed how amazed I was with him taking this opportunity and really doing something with it. He immediately told me that it’s hard for him because he just turned thirty and he sees everyone else here in the US that are his age already starting their careers while he’s just trying to go to school with kids much younger than he is. It broke my heart knowing that he thought that way.

“I admire you,” I told him. “Look at the things that you are doing with your life. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you have these dreams and you are doing everything you can to achieve them. That’s incredible. I really look up to you for that.”

He looked at me with tears streaming down his face. “Thank you,” he said.

By this time we’d been sitting in front of my hotel for a couple of minutes. I paid for my ride told him good luck and shut the door. I looked back at the cab as he drove away and with tears in my eyes, I smiled.

“This is why I love this city,” I whispered to myself.

This man has been on my mind for weeks. Our 15 minute conversation we had that night will stay with me forever. His determination and drive to reach his goal is something that I strive for.  I just wish I could tell him thank you. Thank you for allowing me to see the world not by what is given to us, but what we can achieve when we work for it.

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