My Office Window - Original Writing

Moving from the South to the Midwest was a huge change in my life. For my whole life I grew up to the southern hospitality and the tang of salt in the air since the beach was always less than 5 minutes away wherever I lived. Now I moved to a place where they flip you off to say hi, and the closest thing to an ocean is a sea of grass that seems to go on forever. Although I am now adapted to the change for the most part, it took me awhile to break in to the social norms of an average Midwest kids.

Life in the city is often chaotic and fast-paced. It is as quick as a television dinner. Often, people are forgetting the art of appreciation. Things go unnoticed like a pebble under a shoe, like sparkling windows on corporate buildings. Now, people are typically giving more time to their technological devices- which is not necessarily a terrible thing. If anything, it speaks more of an imbalance. There is a wider disconnect in every day social interactions (communications) and public spaces (location). It has been noted by a creator of public spaces, Goldberger, that people are “there but not there”. They have closed themselves off from experiencing what is right in front of them. For example, the average adult spends seven hours on a technological

Growing up in Manhattan was an epitome of excitement. Back in the day, and also to its founding, New York has always been a beehive of activities. Going down memory lane, I reminisce on trips that we’d take to loads of places around the city for entertainment during weekends and on holidays. Raised by Spanish immigrants, my father was a chef in a small but busy restaurant along Fifth Avenue. Since I can recall, fifth avenue has always had some of the major and well known fashion stores and hotels in the city. This would have

New York City is the place where a person can be intimate with thousands of people all at once, without having to talk or interact with them at all. Whether a person is standing in a crowded subway cart or simply walking around Times Squares or Grand Central, it is almost impossible to get around the city without having to see or engage with another person. New York City blends the concepts of privacy and intimacy, creating an environment where one can be immersed and connected, in what E. B. White describes, as a compact arena comprising of gladiators, evangelists, actors, traders and merchants, yet also feel separated, or apathetic, to the city and its inhabitants as well. Whether it is the “eighteen inches” described by White or simply sitting next to a stranger on the subway, what makes New York City iconic and different from other cities is how its residents – a mixture of locals that grew up in the city, the tourists that visit it, and newly arriving residents from across the world – interact with one another in respect to city life. If a person tries, he or she can avoid talking to anyone all day, despite the multitudes of people he or she encounters. On the other extreme, he or she can also get the numbers, or contact information, of hundreds of people as well. In this perspective, New York City has not changed much since White wrote his book Here is New York – New York City still represents and embodies the concept of what White describes as a blend of privacy and

New York City’s population is a little over 8.3 million people. 8.3 million people are spread out among five boroughs and each have their own set routine. Each one of those 8.3 million see New York in a different way becuase “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it” (“City Limits” 4). Some people are like Colson Whitehead who “was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else” (“City Limits” 3). Others may have “moved here a couple years ago for a job. Maybe [they] came here for school” (“City Limits” 3). Different reasons have brought these people together. They are grouped as New Yorkers, but many times, living in New York is their only bond. With on going changes and never ending commotion, it is hard to

New York City has been in a constant state of change since the 1970’s. Evolving from a state of art and decrepitness to a glistening city of consumption. Yet in Jeremiah Moss’ book, Vanishing New York, the city did not “evolve” for the locals who breathed and lived in the city– the ones who made New York City the place to be, but rather for the big businesses who lure in the tourists who change the city into some kind of sister city to their middle American hometown. Moss uses the same ideas bell hooks wrote about in her “Eating the Other” essay, in that New Yorkers, the “other”, in all their artsy, queer, and ethnic ways are used to “spice up” the city, to make it a place worth coveting so that the rich and elite can sell a watered down/hollow

The essay begins with a short description of the writer’s own experience when she arrived in New York, from the bustling in the crowded streets, to the impersonal existence in her apartment, as she knows none of her neighbors and can only speculate who they are and what they are doing by the sounds they’re making. She moves on to giving several examples of how New Yorkers react with apathy when in crowds, even when something utterly absurd happens, like a woman wearing only her bathrobe on the bus exclaims that she must have forgotten her token in

David O’Sullivan, from Yonkers NY, brought up some positive things about living in New York City. He talked about the very social environment. “I moved from there to Morehead, KY and it is totally opposite. I like clubs, bowling alleys, a choice of a million restaurants to eat at, and places to hang out, which are the things New York City has.” David also brought up the point that you do not have to own a car in the city. He took the subway everywhere, and got around much faster than compared to dealing with

The day I lost my identity was not one that I’ll ever forget. That morning began with a bang. I woke up swaddled in the thin icy air of an NYC Winter. During the night, The Super/ Slumlord of my

Therefore, New York is represented as a very crowded city with a lot of things happening. Moreover, it seems an extremely loud city with people rushing everywhere and minding their own business.

New York is a city that works in mysterious ways, having a strong presence on those who walk its streets daily. It's a city with character, touching those who live there or taste its enigma and yearn for seconds after the moment is gone. Although the journeys this city can put at people’s feet can vary from person to person, in many cases the path that some walk can end up being very similar. This was the case after reading “Tehran to the B Train” by Roxana Sabari and “My First New York” by Colum McCann. These two articles are both taken place in the big city, and when compared side by side, it can be shown that they both show many qualities, such as the location, the struggle both authors go through during their time in the city, and the realization

The first time I stepped into New York, I was in total shock and awe. Buildings stretching across the horizon. Every taxi in New York blaring their horns at each other. Everywhere you looked, you saw people dressed up in Disney character outfits, asking you for pictures, but also making you pay. Swings from every Broadway show, asking you to buy tickets (even though they are sold out for six months). At night, this gorgeous and miraculous part of New York City lights up in every color known to man. All the lights reflecting off the windows of buildings makes the “Square” sparkle even more.

The sounds of the city penetrated the walls of the cab as we drove through the streets of Manhattan. I could hardly wait to partake in the action that was happening outside. The buildings themselves were an amazing site to behold. The buildings took on personalities of their own. Each building was bigger and more graceful than the next. When lights were added to the mix it was a dazzling combination. The city itself felt like a great big hug, and I felt overwhelmed by its power. The city allowed me to become part of it just like many others many years ago who immigrated to this awesome city. As I was looking out of the cab I finally got to see in person the sight of all sights; Times Square. The main juncture of

New York City’s world infamous noisiness, brutish pace, with no trace of empathy or personal space let up last night to the magic of something bigger than the leviathan city itself. Viewed from Brooklyn, Staten Island or Jersey, the fact is that only about one percent of the cosmic spectacle an amateur astronomer could have ogled in the days of Galileo.

When you mention New York to anyone, they automatically think about Times Square. This beautiful place with skyscrapers, Central Park, and a unique transportation system. However, if you were to ask me what I think about New York; I believe the skyscrapers block the sun, Central park is just a regular park for dogs, and the subway trains rarely run consistently especially in the mornings. I have lived in New York for 18 years, and I have yet to understand what everyone likes about the “ Big Red Apple.”