nyc (interlude) Lyrics

I wanna love myself the way I love New York City,

Because I see how ugly she is everyday and I still choose to call her my home.

So why can't I love myself on the days where my skin is bad,

My hair looks frizzy

And my stomach doesn't look as flat as I want it to?

Why can't I love myself during these days where I lay in bed

Crying over yet another person that couldn't see how right I am for them,

Over how I am still not satisfied with how far I've come

Or simply just over all my past mistakes.

Why can't I forgive myself for not finishing my to do list of the day,

For not doing that one exercise I hate at the gym,

Even though I promised myself I'll do it,

Or for not being as perfect as I want to be?

How come that i find it easier to love a city where so many are homeless,

Suffering everyday and treated poorly by a flawed system?

How come that I accept the trash all over Manhattan's sidewalks,

The gross smell of it during summer,

The men that have catcalled me

And the fear that I've felt when my dress was too short and I had to take the subway alone at night?

How can I love this city unconditionally every single day

Despite all it's flaws but can't even accept myself most days?

I wanna love myself the way I love New York City

I wanna be able to appreciate my ugly sides just as much as my pretty sides.

Accept them, maybe even try to work on them, but most importantly accept them.

Maybe some people in my life love me the way that I love New York?

Unconditionally, fully and despite all my flaws, Maybe.

But I need to love myself the way I love New York City, because I deserve to be loved by myself;

The one person who has always been there for me,

Who knows me better than anyone else, who will never leave my side.

I deserve to be my home, my source of inspiration and happiness.

I hope that one day

I'll learn how to love myself the way I love New York City.