ENG 2150: Writing Through New York

When people leave their city and go visit another city, they often tell me that they miss being home. That they miss the city, or the people or just the environment. When I went up to Boston over Spring break, that was the last thing on my mind. Finally getting out of New York in such a long time was what I was dreaming about. To leave New York and go explore some place new. Of course it was unusual, different, weird and not very comfortable knowing that, well, I don’t know what anything or where anything is, but that was what I was craving. Even though Boston was only 4 hours away, it had a completely different system, starting with the public transportation. Instead of swiping their what is known to “charlie cards,” instead of metro cards, they simply tap the card on the machine. How simple. And their “t,” which we call subway, is only 4-5 carts long and runs on streets. Well that was the main different I saw during my visit. And I couldn’t stop wondering why NYC couldn’t have “charlie cards.”

There was another street, which I forgot the name of despite the number of time my friend told me, similar to “little Italy.” It was so adorable. The stores were in little house construction. And well, everything was different. Things were cleaner, neater, nicer, slower. It was just nice to get away from New York. Well, especially the chaotic streets of New York. Actually, no. People need to walk faster there too. And seeing cars actually wait for you to cross the street was a nice change. However overall, being away from New York made me feel more of a New Yorker. Everything I said or did in a way caught the attention of Bonston-ians? I was different. Because New York is different.

So basically out of my seven days of spring break I only ventured out to the city one day. I basically came out to SoHo to take a couple pictures for my blog or whatever and I came to a conclusion while I was there. This hypebeast thing is really getting out of hand. Like really, really out of hand. I mean it was kind of cool before but it is really getting to the point where people are going out and dressing like idiots. Before every basic person would just put on cargo pants and a tee or whatever. But now people are just coming out and dressing like idiots. Literally people are coming out looking like clowns. There is only one thing that you can blame for this and it boils down to tumblr. So basically, one dude and his group of friends started to dress like idiots and then they got “tumblr famous” for it and then everyone began to copy them. And it makes it hard for people like me trying to get somewhere with fashion when they are just ruining everythang. Here is how they dress now-a-days.

You see? It just gets me tight when I see this. I mean but if it makes you happy then whatever. I can’t really be mad because the way one dresses is to express oneself. But it’s not cool because you’re doing because someone else is. It’s just unoriginal and tacky. lol Babble Babble.

I know this is going to start getting redundant soon but … Brooklyn Rocks !! With that being said I have mentioned before that of all the five boroughs Brooklyn is the one in which I am most familiar. If there are any landmarks in Brooklyn, there’s a pretty good chance that I know of it. I can really say the same about the rest of New York.

I think that the bridges of New York are fascinating and amazing structures. Whether it be on a train or in a car I always look out the window and gaze at the bridges until I can’t see them anymore. It hasn’t been up until recently that I have had the opportunity to take a drive across one of the bridges myself.

It’s kind of embarrassing to say this but if I were to stand up at a really high point and look at all the bridges together, I honestly think that I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. I might point to the Verrazano and say that its the Brooklyn Bridge -__-. Ah well

After reading crossing the Brooklyn Ferry and To the Brooklyn Bridge I started making connections with my daily travels and the poems. In both these specific instances the authors discuss the overwhelming visual stimulants that bring them joy as they journey from one end to the other.  Living in Sunnyside I always find myself taking the 7 train regardless of where I need to go, and the special thing about the 7 line is at night you get a surreal view of Manhattan lit up at night just before you go underground to Hunters Points.

There is also something about the transition between the surface to the underground vice versa at night that really makes a person pay attention to those few seconds. I think it is funny because the view of Manhattan I see at night while taking the 7 train is very similar to that of the cliche pictures of the skyline you see on post cards. There 2 occasions over spring break where I took the 7 train really late at night and thought about how that image remained the same, but I knew from my visit there that so much was going on and that everyone was on the move and the city itself was not really the same as it once was when I headed into it.

New York is a beautiful city. When people hear New York they think Manhattan but there is so much more to New York then just Manhattan, or the “the city” as most New Yorkers refer to it. Manhattan is great and always full of energy but there are many other things you can find to do in other boroughs, such as Brooklyn. Living in Brooklyn is great; you have Queens about 20 minutes away, Staten Island just across the bridge and you can walk to the city!

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York’s wonderful landmarks. The bridge connects two great boroughs with two forms of transportation. Driving across the bridge at night you can see the lights on both sides booming with life. Walking across is an adventure every New Yorker and tourist should take. The walk is breathtaking and allows you to take in all of the landscape of the city. The Brooklyn Bride is romantic and over the top.

Although I live in Queens now, my heart and soul are still in Brooklyn. I was born and raised there so I guess this isn’t that much of a surprise. My grandparents live there and some of my closest friends too. Besides all that, there’s still something about that borough that attracts me more than any other. I’m not sure what it is… Maybe it’s all the hipsters and their trendy restaurants (or not)… Maybe it’s all the cool stores lying around there (or not)…. Or maybe it’s something else.

I think the reason I like Brooklyn so much is because it is so hip. I like the fact that it’s a place where everyone goes to brainstorm. A lot of trends (in music, art and fashion) actually started in this borough. I like the fact that people have a very strong sense of community in whatever part of Brooklyn they live in. I even see this in the gentrified areas (which surprises me). I think the entire borough of Brooklyn consists of one big happy family and I consider myself a part of that family (or at least I want to be).