When I See New York

"This study proves my long-held hypothesis that we never get over our first love ... because the first time we fall in love is one of the most unconditional and near-perfect loves we will ever experience - a love like no other - because the human heart is never more open and impressionable; it's never been broken ... [if you were to see your first love right now] ... your hands would get clammy, your pulse would race, your eyes would dilate, and if I was taking an MIR of your brain, it would show increased activity in its most primitive areas ... First love is a permanent physiological, as well as psychological, condition, which proves the mind-body connection ... What you're looking at is the primitive part of a 56-year-old man's brain, who himself is looking at someone he's never seen before. Now here is an MRI of the same man's brain after showing him a picture of a woman he was in love with 40 years ago. See? All the activity firing way."
- A researcher to Jenny "Side Order of Life," the First Loves episode (aired Sun, 8/26).

I don't know if there has ever been conclusive research done on first love phenomena. A brief Google search produced no data, but I remember learning in a college human sexuality course that the pupils dilate when humans see someone they find attractive and there are various chemical or electrical reactions in the brain.

I realized this week that I experience a similar natural high whenever I see Manhattan's skyline, whether it's an image, a video or while flying or driving into or out of the city. I saw Fantasia's video "When I See You" for the first time, and as the images of New York flashed, I felt a lightness in my chest, butterflies in my stomach and a pleasant peace of mind that I associate with seeing someone I love. And I'm certain that if one were taking an MRI of my brain, he or she would witness increased activity.

So I'm still totally in newlywed bliss with this city after one year as a Manhattanite, and it's totally sick, corny and cliche, but just like everyone who has ever loved someone more than anyone else could, nobody loves this city like I do.