Drifting awake is like drifting to sleep, it slightly nudges you at first then, like a stick being freed from the muddy shore, the current grabs and drags you away.
Alan was awake when the alarm went off he was awake when it went off a second time too, unwilling to leave the a meditation of half dazed mental clarity, but that is when he actually got up and began to perform the tasks to get ready. Words “be safe” faintly grazed Alan’s ears as he runs out of the apartment, locks up and rushes to class. As he walk down to one ten passing by like 5 delis in the process, got on the train and sat down; Pasted first to one 3rd the shining new tiling faces Alan while behind the old decay of the other side faced behind him as workers work to fix the problem while handling the graffiti left from the obviously well meaning and civilized individuals that lent a hand last night. Rebuilding while others try to destroy whats left must be a lovely way to start the afternoon. As stations fly pass Alan notice a woman siting directly in front of him she seemed a little stressed dressed in a coat jeans and boots and wondered what she is thinking. Barbara looked at the twitchy man in front of her and couldn’t help but think “why is he looking around so much? is he expecting some agent to pop up and chase him? why do I take the train?”.Alan gets off at 28th street and walks across one block and down two to reach his destination.

She couldn’t sleep all night, because bed dreams were hunting her. She was turning and twisting around, when the first sun rays lighly touched her face. She felt warm and she didn’t wanted to get up from her cozy bad. her alarm clock went off, and she got up and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. in the midtime she went to to take a shower to wake herself up. she put her music on and it was her favorite piece of classical music “Suite Bermasque” by Clode Debussy. she was six years old again, watching her mother play piano and smile at her. She was long gone by she felt her spirit, as the wind flow was coming through the window and played with her curtians that went up and down. Her old photo felt on the floor. She got out of the shower and had to get ready fast not able to finish gher coffee, she ren out of the door. Sun rays that woke her up didn’t feel that warn as in her house, it was quiet chiily for this time of the year. Air smell fresh and light, and she could feel that spring is in the air. wind was strong and it played with her curly her. she had three blocks to get to the  Woodhaven train station that will take her to the college. stream of people coming down the stairs to get to the train platform. she felt like being a part of the flowing river with people moving in one direction. The train came and she stepped towards the middle of the train. Rush hour in New York City was the worst thought. Half sleepy, half tired faces were commuitn to their jobs, and she was going to her first class. She felt happy she is doesnt have to commute like this every day. in half an hour she was in 51 astret and lexington avenue station, and as the train door opened people  rushed to the escalators. while they were standing in the lanes waiting to get on the escalators, few people went on the stairways. she went wiht them and thought that would be a good exercise for her. she had to transfer to the 6 train to get to the 28 street. when she got to the platform, the train sation was so crowded that she barely could get to the train doors. Train came in station and the people started coming in. it was full, so she decides to wait for another. The train came in, and she was on the way to the school. she get off on 28 street and went down the park avenue to the 25th street, where she turned left. Cars on the streets were honking , people in nice suits rushing to their offices. Man in a shiny blue suit was coming towrds her. They looked each other and she felt intimitaded. He looked so perfect at 9p.m. how long does him takes to get like that she thought. She was happy she didn’t have to do that. she was already in front of the school.

Marija Krasojevic

Tuesday, 4 classes, the longest day. Dave walked out the door at 10:30, earbuds on his ears playing songs from his “liked list” as usual. Sunny day, 12 minutes of walking at normal speed to the station, 8 if he walks fast, 15 if he walks slow. Where’s the promised Spring anyway? Isn’t it supposed to be warmer in March? Dave twitched his coat a bit, attempted to cover up a little tighter in the chilly wind. Ahh, at least the sun is bright. Dave’s favorite thing to do when he was a child was lying on the balcony in warm sunlight, watching the cotton candy-like clouds in the blue sky changing their shapes and moving to different directions slowly, freely. It’s as if someone was drawing on a blue canvas, live, a majestic show for those who were willing to watch.But those days were gone.Dave glanced at the Seth Low park as he was walking by, some people were dancing, some were playing chess, mommies and babies were chasing each other. Kid’s laughters can cure everything, he once read, he agreed. Everything was so peaceful and pleasant to watch. What was it though? Lives! Vivacious lives! It’s so good to be young, it’s so good to be alive.

Dave walked into the Bay Parkway N train station, which had become much more crowded since the nearby stations were closed for renovation in January.  There were many people standing on the platform, Dave was glad. He knew if you see nobody was waiting on the platform, that could only mean the last train has just left. He was right. The next train did come in less than 2 minutes. Ahhh, 45 minutes of nap time, 35 if the train goes fast, 1 hour or more if the train goes crazy. “The next stop is 23rd street” is Dave’s alarm. And there he sat down and slept in.

Annnnnd the train went crazy.

Dave stepped out the train, “liked list” was still playing. 7 minutes of walking to the Vertical building, 6 if he walks fast, twel…. and he saw Ding. “So you are on the same train! Hahaha!”Ding said. “Yeah! Listen, I have to go to the class quick, I am already late. I will catch you later okay?”Dave couldn’t wait to get away. “No, man. Stay with me, be calm. I will buy you coffee.”Ding said. And Dave just ran off. ” I will call you later!” He yelled.

Roaring sounds from his alarm clock spontaneously wake him from his much needed sleep. Contemplating whether or not he should buy himself a few more minutes of sleep with the snooze button, but Daniel decides otherwise and jolts out from his bed. He yawns then expresses aloud, “Let’s do this!” Daniel is determined that he will conquer all obstacles the day has to offer him, despite the many challenges he will have to overcome. Walking down the staircase that leads to the train platform, he looks down at the ground with baseball cap onto disguise his presents.  Daniel is too tired to interact with fellow commuters that he is friendly with. Melissa, who is one individual that Daniel normally interacts with, acknowledges that Daniel is attempting to disguise his presence. Melissa is angered, thinking that Daniel is trying to ignore her. She thinks to herself, “What have I done wrong, why is Daniel ignoring me today.” Once Daniel secures his privacy on the train, he decides to take out his book assigned to him in English class, Mrs. Dalloway. Daniel uses his opportunity to get ahead on some reading.  

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Sandy’s alarm rang at 10:00 am. She ate a granola bar for breakfast and got ready to go to school. She grabs her coffee and bag. As she opens the door a rush of cold spring air hits her. She runs back to grab a heavy sweater and rushes to the 2 train at Pelham Parkway.  The train was 5 mins away. Sandy slowly made her way to the platform. The train cart was fairly empty she sat down in the middle of the cart. As the train pulls up to E. 180^th street, sandy got up slowly to the train cart waiting for the doors to open. The old man in front of Sandy gets off the train and Sandy follows. Suddenly the old man stops and she softly hits his heel. The old man, Larry Jackson turns around quickly and pushes Sandy into the people behind her. Sandy quickly apologies and before she get to explain. Larry yells “Sorry isn’t good enough. Just don’t do it,” and he mumbles something as he stomps off. Sandy leaned against a pole carefully. Why did he have such a big reaction? Sandy took the 5 train to Grand Central 42 St. to the 6 train and got off at 23^rd street. Sandy slowly walked to class while watching the people rushing by her. She got to class with minutes to spare thinking about what she will be doing for the rest of her day

Sandy

Sheila stayed up very late last night to study for midterm exam, but forgot to set the alarm clock before going to bed. She got up half an hour late. She used only 5 minutes to dress up, then rushed out of the door, and ran as fast as she could to Q65 bus station. What’s worse, the bus made her wait for 20 minutes long, and almost not space for her to get in. It is so bad! It must indicate an unlucky day! After an extremely crowed ride, she got off the bus and transferred to 7 train with a very bad mood. It’s absolutely impossible to arrive on time. On 7 train, she was still thinking of materials that she reviewed last night. She felt tired and sleepy. How nice would be if there was a bed. Unconsciously, she fell asleep. Luckily, she didn’t miss her stop. After a hurry transfer to 6 train, she finally got to 23^rd street. It’s already half an hour late for the class. When she got out of the station, the warm sunshine, the blooming flowers, and the bright green grass shocked her sense of vision unexpectedly. The spring has come. It’s wonderful to smell the spring in the air! The tinges of spring woke her up, poured magical energy into her body, and got rid of her negative mood away. At this time, her good friend, Claire, came across. Claire knew Sheila must has studied for almost a whole night as usual, thus Claire told her not to do that often. Sheila slowed her pace down, still enjoying the spring, and walked into campus with Claire happily.

Josh woke up on time that morning and rolled out of bed. As he headed out the door he forgot to take his notes and seconds later ran back in to collect them. As he headed outside for the first time that day, he said to himself “its colder than I thought it would be.” According to forecast it was supposed to me a warmer day, but Josh was cold in his thin jacket. As Josh headed down the stairs to catch the 1 train that had just pulled into the station, he nearly fell over and almost knocked a few fellow commuters over. When he walked onto the train Mr. James, who had witnessed the whole ordeal nodded his head in dismay. He thought, “how could this kid be so dumb, has he never been on the train before? Everyone knows that the steps down are small and you have to walk carefully, but this scrawny young moron thought it be wise to run for it!” Josh could see the disappointment in Mr. James’s eyes, and said to himself “I am NEVER going to do that again!” As Josh transferred to the 2 train at 72^nd and then transferred again to the N train at 42^nd he was careful to walk slowly and calmly as to not hit anyone or fall on his way. He acknowledged that even if he were a bit late, at least he wouldn’t hurt anyone, or himself for that matter, in the process. Before he knew it he was walking through the doors of Baruch at 24^th and Lex, ready for his day. “Only 10 hours till I get to go home” he said to himself in an excited voice, as he walked into his first class.

Malwina rushed out of work in a frenzy and was immediately hit with a blast of cold air; she was running 15 minutes behind schedule. “Will I make it to class on time?” she thought to herself as she walked onto Broadway Street to catch the 2 train. On her walk to the 72^nd Street train stop, Malwina passed by Starbucks. She was extremely tempted to go in to order a tall iced coffee, but she decided against it; she didn’t want to risk being late to her English class. Instead she continued walking and finally made it to the train stop. She was digging through her purse for her Metro Card when she heard an announcement regarding the arrival of her train; “the next downtown 2 express train will arrive in one minute.” Malwina started to panic. “I can’t miss this train,” she thought to herself. Suddenly she felt the sharpness of her Metro Card underneath her fingers. She pulled it out, swiped herself in, and proceeded to run down the stairs while managing to hit everyone in her way with her purse. She made it just in time as the doors of the Subway cart began to close. Before she could catch her breath, she felt someone tap her on her right shoulder. She turned around and found herself starting at her high school friend, Ian Green. Malwina couldn’t believe her eyes. “How are you?” she managed to say as she continued to process this surprising yet pleasant encounter. “Good” replied Ian, “What about you? I haven’t seen you in almost three years. It’s crazy how fast time flies.” Malwina and Ian continued to catch up until their train pulled into the 42^nd Street train station. “I have to run,” said Malwina “but it was really great bumping into you.” In a manner of just a few seconds, Malwina said goodbye to her friend and stepped foot onto the busy platform. She had twenty minutes left before her class started, would she make it?

Yao would walk to the R train station as normal. On the way, he went to Dunkin’ Donuts to buy his morning coffee. But the line was too long so that he left the store and directly walked to the R train station. Usually he need to have a coffee on the way to school. But what a crazy line had he waited? Yao took out his earphone and turned on his music when he walked into the subway station. The R train was on time and then he transferred to N train at the 36th ST station. After that he waited about 30 minutes because the N train was delayed. He disliked waiting for the train too long because he would late for his class. More and more people walked into the station. And then the train approached to platform. Undoubtedly, the N train quite crew, but Yao still squeezed into the carriage. Yao arrived at 23rd ST station and walked out subway station. He felt the breath of spring. What a beautiful day! That was a sunny day with a blue deep sky. The birds were caroling and the flowers were blooming. There were some leisurely tourists who tried to take the best angle of the Flatiron building. On the Madison square park, people have enjoyed the sunshine and their lunch. What a lazy day! But Yao realized he had to move on quickly. With quickly moving when he crossed the park, he greeted to his friend who was seated on the chair. YingYan knew that he late for the class. Therefore, she did not ask him to stay. She wanted to ask some questions about their Accounting’s midterm. During the midday, the Newman campus still shows an atmosphere with crowded and loud. Yao ran through the crowd to the classroom. Fortunately, he reached to class on time.

A strong gust of winds hits her when she steps out the door. Today is not a good day, Beatrice decides. She texts the bus app, but the closest bus is 16 minutes away. She steps into a snow bank and it’s 3 minutes away and she runs for it and the driver closes the doors right in her face. The anger when her legs burn and she makes the fifteen minute trek, knowing that driver saw her. What if he had a bad day? Well, she was having a bad day. The Q train finally pulls into the station with a grating sound. There’s an event, and an interview—oh, two events, but then the homework won’t get done. The man across from her sits with his legs spread and takes up an entire seat. Carol Williams, an elderly woman standing next to him, stares wistfully at the small space. She glances at Beatrice, thinking, “Why won’t she give up hers?” but Beatrice is too busy staring at her phone. “Oh, the youth,” she thinks. So, okay, event, event, “Did you turn off the heating?” Mom asks, but she forgot…again. “It takes two seconds!” Mom says, but it’s summer and her jacket feels heavy. Her hair swings against her shoulders and she has no hair tie to pull it back. “14th St-Union Sq,” and her hair prickles against her neck as she cuts someone off on the staircase. 6 train delay, again, waiting twenty minutes in stiff business clothes in July. “My weaknesses? Well, I would say they are…” There’s a bustle in the Baruch lobby; she sidesteps straggling students. The assignment won’t get done tonight.