6/26/2026 Journal

Late-Night Cravings & Unexpected Perfect Scores

Today is the 26th. I can't believe it's already been three days. Actually, I woke up in the middle of the night and ordered McDonald's delivery with my roommate. I thought food delivery culture was uniquely Korean, but it turns out it's pretty common abroad too. Ordering through Uber Eats, I was also surprised to find out that McDonald's is open 24/7 here. To be honest, I'm not a massive fan of McDonald's, but my roommate is a huge soccer fanatic. He's a die-hard Ronaldo fan and seems to really like Son Heung-min as well. Since it overlapped with the World Cup season, McDonald's released a World Cup edition, and you could get a cup featuring a Son Heung-min illustration if you ordered. Of course, you couldn't choose the cup, so we just had to order and leave it to luck, but we ended up failing. Still, the Big Mac was delicious. The taste didn't really seem that different from back home. The fries tasted a bit less salty, though.

While eating our McDonald's, my grades happened to be posted, so I checked them. The results were all 21 credits of A+. This was the first time in my life receiving such incredible grades. I was absolutely thrilled. Honestly, I never imagined I'd get such high marks, but it made me realize that hard work truly pays off. I need to keep pushing myself so I don't lose this momentum.

Setting Sail: Ellis Island & The Statue of Liberty

When I woke up in the morning, today's itinerary included touring Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Walking outside, there were a few people in the lobby, and brunch was all set up. We grabbed our brunch and hopped on a bus headed to Jersey City. Looking at the New York City skyline on the way there was simply breathtaking. Seeing a concrete jungle that you just can't find in Korea left me feeling completely overwhelmed in the best way possible.

In Jersey City, we caught a ferry. We arrived at Ellis Island and there was this unknown building. I think it was probably a museum, but there wasn't as much to see as I'd expected. While the rest of our group had already eaten their brunch on the bus, my roommate and I hadn't, so we ate at a cafeteria-like place on Ellis Island. It wasn't great, but it was enough to fill our stomachs.

From Ellis Island, we took another ferry and finally arrived at the island with the Statue of Liberty. On the way there, we took pictures with the group on the ferry and made some great memories looking out at the statue. The Statue of Liberty was honestly so much bigger than I thought it would be. I could instantly see why it's the ultimate landmark of both New York and the US. We took pictures and took in the city views from the pedestal observatory of the statue looking out over Manhattan. New York is such an amazing city. Will I ever have an opportunity like this again? Probably not. The vibe, the views, the city itself—it's incomparable to any other city I've ever laid eyes on.

Brooklyn Vibes, Pubs, & Unforgettable Night Views

We hopped on a ferry again and headed to Brooklyn to capture some good tourist photo spots. While looking around, we even took a picture with the NYPD. I think that'll be an unforgettable experience. We checked out the Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn, grabbed some lemonade at a cafe, and then headed to a pub. It was a Portuguese pub, and hilariously enough, my roommate wore a Messi jersey there. Thankfully, he didn't get beat up.

After leaving the pub, we went up onto the Brooklyn Bridge to look around. I honestly had no idea it was a place where people could walk, so being able to check it out was awesome. It was incredibly cool. We were able to capture the night view along with the cityscape, and it was ridiculously crowded. If we had come on a weekend, we might have been crushed to death. While admiring the city's night view, the group took several pictures of me, and they turned out way better than expected. I'll definitely cherish them.

An Exhausting Ride Home & Late-Night Reflections

After playing hard to the point of exhaustion all day, we took the bus back. On the way back, I was so out of it that I lost my balance and ended up hitting the head of the person next to me. Lol. It's funny, but a part of me also thinks, "Why did I do that back then?" Of course, I did apologize and say "I'm sorry," but their expression did not look good. I really need to make sure I never make a mistake like that again. Making mistakes is an inevitable part of living life, but I find it really difficult to actually apologize for them. It's definitely something I need to work on, too. I think I'll be falling asleep with a lot of thoughts on my mind tonight.