They say New York City is the concrete jungle, the city where dreams are made. However despite this mystical and enthralling image we have of New York in our imaginations, sometimes the immense chaos and disordered soundscape can leave you with overwhelming sensation. The towering buildings and chaotic soundscape can rip away the fantasy image of the city, which is embedded in our imaginations. In reality, for some, the image of the jungle where one feels invincible in strive to achieve their dreams is replaced with a sense of entrapment and paralysis. At least that was my experience when I left my comfortable nest in Egypt and moved to New York City last year. However, in the face of this struggle of adjusting, I was fortunate enough to discover my own “jungle” within this vast and hectic city. I make my way through the hundreds of strangers walking with me in the streets, pushing through them determined to reach my destination. As I push through desperation to arrive, I spot it 500 feet away from me and suddenly the overwhelming feeling that had encompassed my body all day slowly eases. I have arrived at Washington Square Park. This is the “jungle” where I can go sit, enjoy the mixed soundscape, think of the dreams I want to accomplish in my next few years in New York, and finally, breathe.
I created a poster, which included a map that has 3 sections, a location of most interaction, a location of least interaction, and the most meaningful. I believe that the location that is most meaningful to me is Washington Square Park, as it is a place of leisure, a place of activities and a place to just take a walk, when you need air. My least interaction is with subways, as I feel that I live too close to everything to have to get on the subway. I have the most interaction with Wholefoods; it is my favorite supermarket, and it’s around the corner from where I live. I drew a map of Washington Square Park on my poster, and filled the bottom of the map with images of the activities that take place there. The top of Manhattan is a map of the New York subway, filling the page. The top right of the map has the Wholefoods pick-up map, as well as a collage of images of what Wholefood sells around it. I chose to observe every aspect of Washington Square Park as it is a location that means a lot to me, and I thought it would be exciting to write about.
It is 3:30 in the afternoon, the sun is still shining and the birds are chirping, the beams of light are reflecting off the glistening snow. There are loud noises everywhere, different instruments playing, and dogs barking. I just walked into Washington Square Park, there are couples taking pictures under the arch, children playing with the snow, and teenagers dancing.
As I look at the frozen fountain I see a man walking out wearing a grey thick jacket and black jeans. He is laughing, his eyes are glistening and his voice echoing, he looks very cheerful. My attention is then drawn by the very talented group of teenage dancers at the back. I want to find out more about these dancers, who they are, and why they decided to dance at this specific park.
I then turn my head to the sounds of a woman in a flashy red beanie and a white cotton scarf, laughing hysterically, her big ocean blue eyes are squinting, but her mouth is open wide, I can see her long golden curls blow in the wind. Everyone seems to be laughing here. Meanwhile, two men beside her keep practicing juggling red wooden bottles, and from here I can hear the sound of them hitting the ground, like a coin entering a vending machine.
I can see a lot of teenagers just walking around Washington Square Park; it looks like a herd of sheep coming to claim their property. This place seems to be filled with students, possibly because it is right across the street from NYU. I can hear two students mumbling, having a very intriguing conversation. The boy is worrying about something, I can’t quite tell what, but he keeps twitching and hesitating, he is breathing faster than he should, and is having difficulty getting out words, the girl is trying to comfort him, I can see her patting his shoulder and whispering things.
My attention drifts to 2 children stepping out of the fountain, after a snowball fight. The fountain is very deep with concrete steps coming out. There is snow taking over the whole interior, including the hole where the water should be able to come out of. My vision was then ruined by the disturbing sounds of a flipping skateboard, loud enough for the birds to leave their nest. It strikes me as very interesting that many young people enjoy spending their weekend outdoors, in such terrible weather, I would want to find out more about where else these students like to spend their time, other than the park.
My vision then turns to this couple, they are building a snowman, they look so cheerful, they’re smiles are worth a million dollars. Although there are already 4 other snowmen surrounding them, they still decided to build their own. As they build, children are throwing snowballs at each other, and laughter continues to fill the space, and it just gets me so passionate, as people really know how to make themselves have fun even in such cold atmospheres. I have learned that people don’t think about the weather, they learn to cope with what they have, and that is the most positive way of spending your time.
My eyes then subconsciously turn to nature, noticing the leafless branches on the giant trees. Every cold tree somehow brightens the park, and every snowman adds a joyful effect to the earth. Choosing to observe this phenomenon was so intriguing, as there are so many things happening, and my attention is drawn to every aspect of it.
Connecting all these observations, you start to notice that the park is filled with teenagers or young children. The elderly seem to be missing from this park. Possibly because of the weather, however when I bring the groups together, I realize that they are all similar in the way that they all want to be doing something, weather it is dancing, building a snowman, or even having a snowball fight. They all have the energy to be outdoors and run around. I think that when people are having fun, they don’t think about the weather, or how they may be feeling; they just concentrate on enjoying themselves, and absorbing that winter breeze, with a hint of sunlight.
