Public transportation in New York is honestly hard to understand until you use it everyday. There are trains, buses, shuttles, trams, ferries, and railroads. Trains and buses are probably the most used. The way I think about it is that trains go up and down cities. These usually have numbers on them ranging from 1 to 6. If there is a train that goes left to right, it is most likely a shuttle and has a letter attached to it. Buses are a little more local and go left and right within cities and between cities. A tram is used to get to Roosevelt island. It is a lift that takes you alongside the bridge. Railroads can take you outside of what is considered New York City. These are places like Westchester and Long Island. Places like Grand Central Station and Atlantic Station are departure stations for both trains and railroads. Two railroads are Metro North and Long Island Railroad. Lastly, a ferry is mostly used to get to Staten Island. It is a multi-level boat that goes back and forth from Manhattan to Staten Island. You can use public transportation in one way or mix the methods. Coming from school I used to get on the Metro North in Westchester, a railroad train, then get on a train in the Bronx, and then get on a bus in Brooklyn to get home. The system is set up in a way to cover all bases. Of course there is still some walking you might have to do and the fare seems to go up every few years but for most it is more practical and cost efficient than a car. Public transportation is also more eco friendly because it is a method of carpool which uses less fossil fuels per person. 

While writing this, I realized that when I write I automatically change the way I talk to sound more professional. It was hard to keep reminding myself that I was explaining this to a ten year old so I need to be conscious of my word choice. I used terms like left to right instead of horizontally and big instead of multi-level. I also could see how writing about the NYC public transportation system can be a hindrance. I reread my work and honestly I still don’t think the ten year old would feel comfortable using the transit system to go places. Things like maps, pictures, and actually using the systems would probably be most helpful. Not everything can be explained in writing. I do feel like what I wrote is a form of writing up. In my mind I was going through a checklist of things I needed to cover. I feel like in writing I wouldn’t necessarily be doing that. I also think that writing about something that is physical also leads people to write up instead of write. Overall I went through a range of emotions while doing this. At first I had no idea what to talk about, then I needed to pick something that I could sort of dumb down in order for it to be appropriate for a ten year old. Overall I think I did a good job of putting things into words but I definitely think writing is not the best form of explanation in this case.