What I Hear

My daily walk from Hunter's main campus to the 59th Street- Lexington Ave train station usually takes me about five-eight minutes- depending on whether I obey the pedestrian crossing signals. However- for this assignment I walked from campus down Lexington Avenue to 42nd Street- Grand Central Station. Normally when I walk through the city I have my headphones in blasting music ranging from Ed Sheeran to Pusha-T, but on that night I gave my headphones a rest and listened to the music the city had to offer.

It was a quiet night in the city- until you really began to listen to what the streets of New York were telling you. As I walked down Lexington I became more aware of every step that I took- it seemed as if every step got increasingly louder. My mind was so stuck on that one sound until the siren from an ambulance came blaring down the avenue and slowing diminished into nothing as it got further from me. As I stood on the corner waiting for the light to change so I can walk I heard the traffic light box switch so that the pedestrian crossing lights will automatically change as well. As I crossed the street I noticed the sound of a dogs collar as it walked near me. I looked at the dog and began to walk near it and somehow I noticed the pattern in the dogs panting.

As I neared the station and walked towards the turnstiles I noted the sound of the metrocard being swiped and the rotating thing being turned. I noted the sounds of trains approaching and departing. But as I realized that my sound walk was coming to an "end" everything once again became a blur. The sounds of the metrocard being swiped, the train doors opening/closing, the announcements over the loud speaker, the MTA worker speaking at the booth- everything just became mushed together and in that moment I realized that all the minute details are what makes up the sound of New York.

Since this little assignment- I find myself more in-tuned with the world around me. I've been taking out my headphones A LOT more often now and just wanting to experience the sound of the city- every bit of it.