I decided to stay close to home, literally. I just took a walk around my neighborhood. A neighborhood that I have lived in for about 12 years now. Things keep changing though. This was once such a quiet little corner in queens that no one had heard of. Yet now, big chains are taking up space here and attracting new people.
As I walk down my own block, I hear a family discussing in a language I have never encountered before. I walked by a barbeque, blasting Spanish music so loud it almost makes you want to join them. Amongst all of that, I can tell that the kids are playing tag while the adults laugh at jokes that the kids don’t understand yet.
When I turn to a busier street, I hear the traffic reminding me that I’m still in New York City. The buses honk, some car doors are slamming shut and people are about to start their weekend. Usually, when I pass this street, I’m walking as fast as I can with my music blasting so I can end my busy day and get home as soon as possible. I’m totally detached. But today, I notice other people going about their day. The furniture salesman trying to make his customers happy and it seems like he's doing a good job because they're laughing. A new juice bar that opened up and they're giving away free samples. There are some families just out for an evening walk and on the other side some kids going home from school with their chips and Arizona drinks in hand.
It felt so much more lively than my usual experience. It was eye-opening to walk down streets I pass through every day but to actually pay attention to others instead of myself. We get so caught up in our own lives, we forget that there are about 50 different stories unfolding around us.
As I walk down my own block, I hear a family discussing in a language I have never encountered before. I walked by a barbeque, blasting Spanish music so loud it almost makes you want to join them. Amongst all of that, I can tell that the kids are playing tag while the adults laugh at jokes that the kids don’t understand yet.
When I turn to a busier street, I hear the traffic reminding me that I’m still in New York City. The buses honk, some car doors are slamming shut and people are about to start their weekend. Usually, when I pass this street, I’m walking as fast as I can with my music blasting so I can end my busy day and get home as soon as possible. I’m totally detached. But today, I notice other people going about their day. The furniture salesman trying to make his customers happy and it seems like he's doing a good job because they're laughing. A new juice bar that opened up and they're giving away free samples. There are some families just out for an evening walk and on the other side some kids going home from school with their chips and Arizona drinks in hand.
It felt so much more lively than my usual experience. It was eye-opening to walk down streets I pass through every day but to actually pay attention to others instead of myself. We get so caught up in our own lives, we forget that there are about 50 different stories unfolding around us.
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