New York City's Instagram users are pretty tenacious. They're known for climbing perilous towers and bridges, trudging through tunnels and scouring the city for beautiful street art all in the name of getting the perfect shot.
They're also documenting the absurdity that is our daily subway commute with accounts like People of Penn Station and City Subway Creatures.
But there's another user called Why I love New York City that's been grabbing people's attention for quite some time now.
Why I Love NYC (or WILNYC) for short, is a project founded by Eljay Aguillo, and it was inspired by the story of how he met his wife, a story seemingly ripped right from the pages of a romantic comedy set in, you guessed it, NYC.
After an all-too-common ID and credit card mixup at a bar in 2008, Aguillo closed someone else's tab in his boozy stupor, and only realized he'd taken the wrong cards with him when he got into the cab.
The cabbie turned around and brought Aguillo through a half hour of traffic back to Midtown, where his future wife stood on the corner, awaiting his arrival, hanging out with her best friend and Aguillo's ID and credit card.
So that nice story of how two lovers met inspired Aguillo to go out and document other New Yorkers and their stories, with Why I Love New York City. Some of their stories are funny, some are romantic, but they're all New Yorkers.
Check out a selection from his series below. It's pretty heart-warming.
whyilovenewyorkcity @PranaliSoni - "Without a care in the world, I started singing and dancing on Broadway. Instead of gazing at me and people giving me weird stares (singing "Greenback Boogie" from the Suits soundtrack and "Started From the Bottom by Drake blasting from my phone and from my lips) they started singing and rapping along with me". (For full story, click on the link in the BIO). Pic taken by @Misterhattan in Union Square. #SuitsOnSet #DrakeAreYouReadingThis #WeNeedMoreDoctorsLikeThis ---------------------------------------------- Interested in being a feature? Email/message me.
whyilovenewyorkcity @JeanLucMAntoine - "If you don't know anything about @NYCFC (New York City Football Club) you are really missing out..." (For full story, click on the link in the BIO). Pic taken by @Misterhattan in Midtown. #ChryslerBuilding #Nycfc #FootballClub #MoreThanJustAFan ---------------------------------------------- Interested in being a feature? Email/message me.
whyilovenewyorkcity @TaylorBrandtPhotography - "I found myself spontaneously breaking into a super silly and animated dance as we walked by four anchors who were in the middle of filming..." For full story, click on the link in the BIO). Pic taken by @Misterhattan in the #UpperWestSide. #IDontCareWhatYouThinkOfMe #BarriersBroken #WhySoSerious ---------------------------------------------- Interested in being a feature? Email/message me.
whyilovenewyorkcity @Afreeeen - "I came to this city to write my own narrative, and just about everyone is doing the same." (For full story, click on the link in the BIO). Pic taken by @Misterhattan in Hudson River Park Pier 45. #HudsonRiverPark #MakeFoolsOfOurselves #WriteMyStory ---------------------------------------------- Interested in being a feature? Email/message me.
Check out The People of Penn Station Instagram Is Everything You Need Right Now.