Thinking about New York culture

Since coming to Cornell, I've come to realize how much living in Brooklyn has shaped me. I can't stop myself from walking twice as fast as most other people on campus, a habit I picked up years ago as I speedwalked to the subway so I wouldn't be late for work or school. People are often surprised when I tell them that I still can't drive; I just never got around to learning and the subway serves me very well anyway. Ithaca is so different in so many little ways, from the unsafe intersections with no stop lights, the streets with no sidewalks, the cul-de-sacs in Cayuga Heights, and the bus that comes every half hour. People will say hello when you walk past them on the street, which I still can't get used to because it's so contrary to the jaded "mind your own business" mindset most New Yorkers have.

I love coming back to Brooklyn on breaks and during the summer. There are few things better than going to a taco truck in Bushwick at midnight or walking across the Williamsburg bridge or hanging out on the piers in Greenpoint. The streets and parks are always active, even late in the night. I remember chilling with some friends in the park and stumbling upon a massive party with a DJ blasting dancehall and Afrobeats; it was an unreal moment. One of my best memories from last year was when I went with some friends to Washington Square Park and we ended up dancing for the whole night in a massive mosh pit with like a hundred random people.

People often say that New Yorkers are cold and unapproachable, but I've had some incredible interactions and met great people just through striking up random conversations on the subway. Once, I was sitting next to a middle-aged Yemeni man who was listening to his music without headphones while waiting for the train. The song he was listening to was actually kind of good so I asked him about it and we had a great conversation. He told me about his music taste, his life, his family. When I got off the train, I realized that it was interactions like those that are what I love most about New York.