About Me
A little over 30 years ago, my parents both immigrated from Malaysia to New York City. There they both began new lives in Brooklyn, where they met, and eventually went on to work and live in Elmhurst, where I was born. Growing up in New York City, I was raised with traditional values but an open mind. It is with this mindset that I thrive in the city with both its pros and cons.
I like the convenience of the city and having the ability to walk out my door and have all kinds of stores within a short walking distance or a short bus or train ride. I also like the diversity that exists in the city and the resulting cultural influences in some neighborhoods. Cultural hubs such as Chinatown and Little Italy are filled with authentic products and restaurants that are great to see and visit. A third thing I appreciate about the city is its various landscapes. From the skyscrapers in Manhattan to the quiet parks in residential areas, there are various environments to be in depending on my mood.
As many things as I enjoy about the city, there are some things I do not like such as the crowds and traffic that make it hard to get around, especially in some parts of Flushing and Manhattan. In addition, I dislike the high cost of living in the city that makes it difficult to survive on minimum wage. Another thing I do not like is the filthy state of most Subway stations, which makes commuting unpleasant. Although the Subway is useful for transportation, it is not always a nice place to be.
Transit Experience
I have been taking mass transit to school for over seven years now, and during this time I have had many interesting experiences. During high school, my commute to Bronx Science involved a half hour ride on the R train followed by about an hour on the 4 train. One time I was commuting up to school during midterms week and there was a snow storm which caused the 4 train to be delayed for over an hour. Everyone crowding the station was cranky and eager to get on a train.
When the trains started running again, people piled onto the first train to come, shoving and squeezing into the tight train car. Halfway to my stop, the car had emptied out considerably, but people were still irritable, and a fight broke out. Several students I recognized from my school accused a man of pushing a female student, and insults were being thrown back and forth. Not long after, things escalated into a physical fight and bystanders scrambled to get away from the action.
There were so many people in that train car but only one man stepped in to attempt to calm them down. He was able to reason with both parties to an extent and deescalate the situation into insults instead of punches. However, even when the man in the fight arrived in his stop and stepped out, he egged the students on to come out and face him. They did not, and once the doors closed, it was as if the fight had never happened.
