New York City

New York, New York!

I took advantage of my spring break and spent my time in New York City because I have never been and I have always wanted to go. There were highlights such as a Broadway show, the Statue of Liberty, the MET, and the list goes on. Of course, you know me, I must discuss the ‘internal’ experience of New York and what the city taught me.

One of the most noteworthy lessons that I learned on this trip is the value of walking on your own two feet. I pretty much walked about 5 miles every day, and I even went for a run through Central Park. Exploring the city on foot reminded me of the importance of ground-level interactions. Whether it is the bilateral rhythmic motion on the streets or making eye contact with a stranger for a brief moment, the ground level is the real deal. I noticed that most of the time, especially in the areas with a high influx of tourists, most people spend their time looking up. The skyscrapers, the city, the overall draw of New York is the height and the bigness of it all. I spent quite a bit of time looking up, too. I felt that I discovered the essence of the city a little bit more when I looked straight ahead or down towards the ground.

You might be curious as to what I saw at eye-level or below. I noticed city-like things such as pigeons, houseless people, trash, traffic signs, rats (!), and sidewalks. What I also witnessed was the inner character of New York. I noticed people leaning up against the side of buildings listening to music or chatting during their smoke break. I scanned over graffiti with significant messages about socialism and NYPD. I saw babies peering out from strollers with their nannies texting while walking. I looked under the stoops and noticed interesting smoke shops, thrift stores, and bodegas. One day I walked from 109th to 142nd on Broadway and walked through street vendors, flea markets, and morning meetups. It was in these moments in particular that I felt that spirit of New York shine through.

New York City wants us to look up, it beckons us so. I did look up, quite a bit. But if I’m always looking up, what do I miss right in front of me? Right below me? Even in the busy tourist sectors, I felt that I could pick up on subtle glances or body language in between groups.

I believe that New York may have reminded me to look up more often in my day-to-day life. And it also taught me to sometimes look in the other direction that others may not be looking in. It seems to me that the moments that pass without a witness are sometimes what can convey the most information. As creatives, artists, and poets say, making the mundane novel and making the redundant nuanced is when the human spirit shines through. Seemingly doing ‘nothing’ in New York City may seem like a waste of time, but paying attention to the daily grind of city life is when the magic is captured.