Walking is something most of us do everyday, but we hardly ever stop and think about the beauty of it. We were not born with the ability to walk, it is something we have learned to do and has come close to effortless. People walk for different reasons including exercise, transportation, socializing, and sight seeing. While we walk, we do not pay attention to each step we take, but to what is going on around us with the exception of some situations when our only concern is to arrive at our destination as fast as possible. My favorite walk to take is on the bike path along side the Belt Parkway that wraps around the western tip of Brooklyn. This walk creates a quintessential New York experience because there are breathtaking views of the Hudson, the Verrazano Bridge, and the New York City skyline.

This sun is just starting to set as I began my walk on the edge of the water. The view from here is soothing. As the waves crash onto the rocks, I feel a cool mist and it brings my back to all the days I spent ogling out at the open water. There is something about it that seizes my attention. Perhaps it is the joy of being free, flowing, and going somewhere without a care in the world of where it will take you. Maybe it is the water’s mysteriousness or possibly its beauty.  There are so many questions I ask myself while looking at the water. What if I was out there, floating all alone at night? There are no lights; I wouldn’t be able to see my hand in front of my face. What would I do? That would be terrifying I think to myself, as I pay no attention to walking for it has become an involuntary motion.

Just as I begin to let my imagination take over, I see lights in the corner of my eye. The view from here is marvelous. It is the Verrazano Bridge and reality sets in again. I begin to wonder how it was built, and situated into the water. I have heard stories of how it was made, but it was never all that clear to me. However, every time I look at the enormous crossing, I am reminded of what I do know; men died building this bridge. As the large concrete supports were being filled, men accidentally fell in and were buried alive under cement as it kept pouring in; there was no helping them.  They died for its purpose, its massive size and most of all its magnificence. It stands as the longest suspension bridge in the world with hundreds of thousands of users each day, typical for a travel route in New York. To think, that at one point this great mass of steel was not here is nearly impossible to fathom. I couldn’t help but notice that the lights on the bridge cast a blanket of light onto the water below it. I fixed my eyes on it until I passed it by and was no longer in my sight.

I continue onward while traffic blows by me on the parkway. It is not very absurd to be a few feet a way from speeding vehicles in New York. The view from here is familiar. Across the Belt, I can see a few public parks. One of which is my High School’s baseball field. Immediately I am brought back to my days at Xaverian, going to class and walking through the halls with friends sharing good times and bad. Furthermore, our spring gym classes that we spent playing on this field. We would toss around a football almost as often as each other. I wish I were able to go back to those days; they were great times shared by great friends.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I have come to the end of my walk, the 69^th street pier. The view from here is picturesque. Across the water, the countless lights of Manhattan flood the sky, and as I stand looking out at the cityscape, I have never felt so alive. The path I have followed has brought me to a place of wonder, beauty, and life.  I can gaze in awe at this magnificent sight for hours on end with a plethora of questions circling in my head. How was it imagined? How was it brought to life? How can something as chaotic as “the city that never sleeps” be so peaceful and relaxing from a distance?  One can only marvel at this splendid skyline. When people think of New York, one of the first things that they picture is this view before me. All the towers in a line resemble a mosaic of steel, stone, and glass; perfectly placed and engineered. The City would not look better had it been painted on a canvas in front of a bright blue sky.

Walking to me is never really about walking, but where I am going and what I will see along the way. People stuck in the city are too busy walking a straight line to even take a glimpse at what is in front of them. If only they took a few minutes to stop, look around, and take everything in, I’m sure they would enjoy the view.