Soyon stepped out the revolving door of her apartment at 9:55 a.m. She first saw some fallen leaves on the street, and think winter is coming. She likes winter rather than any other seasons, and she is so happy about the semester is ending soon. She walks to the 6 train. First, she turns left to the East side, and walks to the Park ave. She saw her neighbors on the porch. Somehow, she is worried about the book she has not finished reading for today. Should I wake up earlier to finish the reading? She keeps walking to the Lexington ave. She gets the Lexington ave., and walks into the subway. Oh, the 6 train is 14 minutes delayed. She freaks out. She thinks she should have woke up early. She regrets. Anyhow, the train runs as express, and she finally arrived on time, and gets 23rd street. After she gets out of the subway to upstairs, and she is finally relieved. She walks on the 23rd street to the Lexington ave. When she gets on the Lexington ave., and turns to the left side to get 25th street. She buys a cup of coffee in front of her school, and walks into the entrance to get her class.

She took one step out of the house and felt the warm breeze hit her face. She turned left up towards 7^th avenue, since the 8^th avenue station was in that direction. As she continued to walk she noticed how perhaps she had not dressed appropriately for the weather. In fact, she realized perhaps she wore too many layers: a scarf, a sweater and a long sleeve shirt, but by the time she began to feel the overwhelming heat, she was already too far from home to turn back and change. After a few minutes, which seemed forever to Samantha, she finally arrived at the train station and immediately the train arrived and she thought to herself how fortunate she caught the train because she thought she might be late for class. As soon as she stepped onto the train she finally noticed that there was a seat available for once, and that was quite a rarity. As the train approached Canal St. station, the train conductor announced that the train would not be stopping at 23^rd st which annoyed her and reminded her how much she disliked the MTA. Of course she still had to go to class, so she continued her journey to school by transferring to the 6 train. The 6 train as usual arrives promptly and I rode to 23^rd street and Lexington avenue. As soon as she stepped out of the station she immediately thought “Coffee”. Of course class was probably starting in five minutes, but no, that did not stop Sam from getting her daily dose of caffeine. So per usual, she went to the nearest Starbucks, which she noticed as usual was busy in the morning. She ordered her venti ice coffee and made her way to the Lawrence and Eric Field Building and arrived, thus beginning her long day at Baruch College.

Michele woke up from some noise. She looked over to see Ale getting ready for the day. Why didn’t he wake her up? He knew she had class, but she did not let it take any more of her time. She ran to the bathroom and got ready. It was already 8:15, her class started at 8:40. She has to go, she thought. Right before leaving, she forgot to start a pot of coffee for the train ride, but its okay, Ale is not ready yet so they had a few minutes to spare before walking out the door.

Michele locked the apartment door as they headed to begin their days. Michele said to Ale how beautiful and warm it was outside. She loved when she dressed accordingly to the weather. They headed towards Wyckoff, cut through the parking lot to get to DeKalb, made a right to the L train. As Michele swiped in she thought how great it was to have the unlimited metro card.

They went down the stairs on the Manhattan side and the train was already rolling in. That’s always a sign of a good day. They walked into a packed train. A lady had her train on the L train…during rush hour… why? It’s a beautiful day. Michele thought to herself that she would bike the whole way to Baruch if she had a bike a like that.

Jasmine Estevez

Journey to School

“Goodbye Dad” Jasmine called out to her father Victor who was in the shower. She ran down the stairs and held the door wide open. “What a beautiful day it is today, oh how I wish it was summer again,” she thought to herself. Jasmine shut the door behind her and was now on her way to the seven train. While going down Junction Boulevard she always encounters Larry, who sits on a cardboard with a little cup next to him. Both his legs are missing his foot. Larry looks at Jasmine and she tries not to make eye contact, for looking at him makes her feel bad.

Once she got to the train Jasmine thought to herself how hot it was. Looking to the right she saw her train coming so she walked to the same door she always entered. “Yes a seat,” she hurried to sit down. Jasmine was going to read when she began to day dream about the guy she was with the day before. Contemplating weather, she wanted to pursue something or just stay as friends. At grand central she got off and transferred to the six train. There was this one mother who was sitting in between her two children. They all had that same light brown curly hair and she just stared at them thinking how cute and nice hair they had. At 23^rd Street Jasmine got off and headed down one block to Baruch. She looks at her time and thinks yes I’m not going to be late. Once Jasmine gets to the building door she remembers how they always ask for ID. For some reason this irritates her especially when she’s late. The struggle it is sometimes to find things in her purse. Although this one time she noticed the police guard wasn’t even checking. She then hurried to catch the elevator which happened to still be there. Jasmine gets off on the fourteenth floor and walks down to her classroom. “Good my seat isn’t taken” she thinks. After she sits she looks at her phone until its time for class to begin.

At 5:15 promptly, Chedva’s raucous alarm goes off, alerting her that the allowed amount of sleep is over. Slipping into some running gear, she follows her same routine – down the stairs, through the park, a right by the bakery, and back home once more. By 7 am, she is showered, dressed and contemplating life’s decision to invent oatmeal, the healthier breakfast option, before shrugging and reaching for the waffles.

7:45 is a rush to the B6 train along with every other Flatbush community member, yet Parker knows her so he’ll stop the bus in the middle of the street. Mother always said that a smile could go a long way. Reaching the Academy at 8:05 sharp, Chedva organizes herself and her classroom, before greeting her students and launching into her morning.

At 12:30, thoroughly exhausted, starved and in need of an espresso, she waves goodbye to Edmund, the security guard and walks down McDonald Ave. toward the ever-running F train. Up a ridiculous amount of stairs that knock the wind out of her, she finally arrives, usually just in time to have an asthma attack right before the train closes its doors.

Inhaling the combination potpourri of metro life, Chedva glances around, nodding to the man in yellow who is always on her train, at the same time, in the same car, in the same yellow shirt, everyday. Should she be worried? Suddenly its Broadway-Lafayette and it seems as if everyone needs to take the 6 train – since when did it become so popular at 2 in the afternoon? Three stops later and she’s walking under the construction site, wading through the anxious parents of the seemingly pretentious elementary school on the corner near Baruch. Left on Lexington, right into the twirling doors that give her a panic attack every time she uses them, she flashes the guard her id and a smile. There’s never a smile back, just a suspicious expression and a nod of acknowledgment. It’s 20 minutes before class, the elevator is on senior citizen speed, yet Chedva is still on-time and early, her personal favorite.

Zhao left home in a rush, keep blaming herself why being so late every time. If only she could leave 10 minutes early, situation would be much different. On the way to the Q train station, she could hear children’s laugh on the playground. They are so adorable and joyful. Zhao glanced at their happy faces, her mood was brightened. Zhao was pretty lucky, she got on the train as soon as she arrived there. She never liked the train, they often delay or just stopped in the middle of two stations. Hope things would go fine, Zhao told herself, since she didn’t have any flexible time. Anyway, she got off the Q train at Lexington Av. 59 without a hitch and transferred to 6 train. On the 6 train, when Zhao finally felt relieved and tried to close her eyes for a while, she suddenly heard Lily’s voice. Lily was a homeless young woman. She told people her story without a pity voice and looked not in a truly bad condition. Zhao thought Lily was just a common beggar. Surprisingly, near half people on the train offered some money. Zhao knew people like helping others who were in protected class, but she wondered whether people could notice more about people who actually made an effort, like people who play instruments or sing. With such thought, Zhao noticed she should got off the train at 23 st. What a warm day, Zhao stepped in campus and started her class.

Zhao Wang

This morning Valerie left her home at the same time as usual. She thought that she would take the same route which was to catch the B35 on church Avenue than transfer to the Q train on East 18^th for the 6 train on 14^th street. After that she would get off on 23th and walk down a long block to Lexington to arrive at Baruch College. However on her way to take the bus she met Harry, a strange guy, asking her for a nearby church. Valerie hesitated to stop when Harry approached her. This guy looked drunk and maybe would ask me for some money she thought. But she trusted her instinct and talked to Harry. Do you know where I can find a church in this area? You would have to walk seven blocks from here head to Beverly road, but I am not sure if it is open at this time. Harry thanked her for the information. As she walked away he asked her if she is a Christian, she replied yes then he said can you please do me a favor. What is it? Can you pray for me whenever you have a chance? Absolutely! Then she left him. On the train she could not stop thinking to Harry, about his demand. She felt very sorry for him. When she arrived to 14^th Street the 6 train was delayed and  she was running late for her accounting class. Finally when the train came she was informed that the train would not stop on 23th. Thus she had to go to 42th street to transfer for the downtown 6 train. She thought how ashamed she would felt walking late in class while all eyes would stare at her. She does not like to be late, but she came thirty minutes after the class began and what she was afraid of happened. They did look at her even thought it might not be true, she believed so. This inconvenience ruined her day. After this class was over, she went to eat her lunch and hopefully would be on time for her English class.

Valerie Dorisca

Allister’s commute to Baruch is sometimes as easy as laying up a basketball, and at other times can be as difficult as trying to tame a lion. Early in the morning, around 5:45 a.m., he would wake up, get himself cleaned up and looking presentable as he takes the twenty-five minute drive to the Harriman train station, where others like himself await quietly for the lengthy commute of the train ride on NJ Transit. His train would normally arrive at 6:55, but sometimes it would run late. Fortunately it arrived on time and he, like everyone else, board the crowded train to begin the ride. Walking down the aisle, Allister sees no seats available and is forced to stand in the middle like a few unlucky others for an hour as the train rides off heading to Secaucus, NJ. As the ride goes on, he has an emotionless state, listening to music to pass the time and checking the scores of last nights basketball games and reading up on sports stories to remain up-to-date with what’s going on through the season. After the hour long ride, the train arrives at. Secaucus, where most including himself need to transfer at to get to New York Penn Station. Awaiting at the dock is more people undergoing the commute waiting for the transfer train. Allister has the same emotionless expression on his face as everyone else waiting at the dock as the second train arrives. He is unlucky again as he cannot find a seat and is forced to stand again until he reaches Penn Station. The train arrives and all the commuters rush out to beat each other up the escalator before it gets backed up. The saving grace for Allister is that he does beat everyone up there so he can keep it moving. Everyone is walking the same direction up the stairs and out the door and begins the fifteenth bloom walk to Baruch as it is a clear morning which merits the notion to walk rather than to take the subway. He observes the skyscrapers, the architecture, the fashion, and the restaurants as he walks through Midtown while listening to music and somewhat daydreams of living here when the right time presents itself. Before long and he even realizes it, the fifteenth block walk is up and he arrives at his college with his mind fresh and ready to attend classes for today.

Calvin left the house at 8:30 am, later than usual. It was a chilly morning, but such a beautiful day. Good thing Calvin brought his jacket. Afraid that he was late, Calvin swiftly walked to the train station. He heard the train approaching the station and ran up the stairs to catch the train. Calvin luckily just made it onto the train that just arrived.  He walked in, and saw an empty seat next to Janet, an elderly Asian lady. Calvin put in his earphones and listened to music. He was very tired due to the lack of sleep the night before and dosed off immediately. When Calvin woke up, he panicked. He was afraid that he missed his stop. Fortunately, Calvin woke up in time and got off the train at Broadway Lafayette where he transferred to the 6 train. The 6 train took forever to arrive, what was taking so long? While waiting for the train, he ran into an old acquaintance from high school, Eric. They haven’t spoken since the last day of high school. It turns out that Eric went to Baruch as well. Eric and Calvin got onto the 6 train when it arrived and got off at 23^rd street. This whole time they were catching up and talking about which classes they were taking. They talked until they reached to their destination at Baruch.

-Calvin Yu

Jeff is recovering from the cold he had yesterday, but he is not going to let the cold defeat his will of going to school because he knows very well how important that English 2850 class is to him. As usual, Jeff step out of his apartment building at 10:00 am, he turn right and walk towards Catherine Street; despite the cozy temperature outside, he is wearing an extra sweater today because of the cold. Jeff take another right turn at Catherine Street and now he’s on Madison; what a beautiful weather it is today! But Jeff can’t seem to enjoy all of this for he is feeling dizzy and start to regret his decision of going to school; why did he not stay home today? What was it about the English 2850 class that is so important? Should he turn back home right now? Questions haunted him as he is walking towards the City Hall train station. 10:15 am Jeff arrived the station, he swipe his card and walk towards the same spot he usually wait for the 6 train. He notice the rat, Mr. Cat, under the tracks is searching for food; Jeff admire the bravery of Mr. Cat for having to survive under a dangerous environment. 10:20 am a local 6 train is finally here, Jeff couldn’t wait to get into the train because he is sweating like rain. On the train, Jeff feel like time is forever because he is so eager to get to class on time. 10:35 am Jeff finally arrived at 23^rd Street and now he is happy and he is thrill, but it was only the beginning of the day, so Jeff start walking towards the school getting rid of any distress and ready to fight the long run battle of the day.