My name is Glenn Collaku. I was born in Durres, Albania and was raised by my grandparents in Albania for about 5 years until I joined my parents in the United States. My parents and I lived in Queens for 4 years, which is where I learned to speak English, and then later moved out to Long Island where we currently live. I grew up in a household that strongly valued learning and was encouraged to have a strong work ethic. Once I began middle school, I joined the football team and later wound up joining every sports team that I possibly could. Sports and physical activity, in general, have been crucial to making me the person I am today. Since it was expected of me to do well in school, I had the overachieving mindset in the sports that I played as well, and it has carried over to my continued exercise now. I am a Nutrition and Food Science Major who plans to attend graduate school for Physical Therapy. Something I enjoy about New York City is the vast number of experiences to be had. New York City has almost everything, from eccentric dancers on the streets to some of the most impressive technological and engineering feats in the world. I also enjoy the fact that there is no shortage of opportunities in New York City. There are very few limits on what you can do or achieve if you work hard and recognize the opportunities. The subway system is also very convenient, despite the number of complaints people have about it. Since I haven’t lived in the city for long, I do not have many qualms, but the major issues involve the filth, smell and overall raggedness of certain areas. Many parts of the city look almost futuristic in terms of technology and appearance but some neighborhoods look neglected, and to some extent that cannot be helped because of the lack of wealth in those areas.

Transit Experience:

There are many bad experiences that can be experienced on the subway, but I would prefer to focus on an experience that made me and my friends laugh at the time. I try to maintain as positive an outlook on things as I can, so there is no need to harp on negatives. My friends and I ride the train every day from our dorms, and subsequently, the ride is usually monotonous and boring. Being relatively young people gave us the opportunity to watch Spongebob growing up, and this show wound up being the surprising catalyst of laughter in an otherwise quiet subway car. A teenager who was sitting down suddenly stood up and yelled: “What are they selling?”. In any other situation, most people would not get the allusion to Spongebob, but somehow at the same time I yelled back “Chocolate”, 5 or 6 other people did as well. We all started laughing at the fact that we answered back in near unison. I found this particularly interesting and doubt I will forget it for a long time because New York City is known for being a cold and unfriendly place but this insignificant moment shows how various random people in a reputably cold place actually do have common ground. Numerous other similarities can be found between the seemingly isolated residents of New York City, and despite this one being simple and meaningless, it was a memorable experience of connection and camaraderie in a place whose inhabitants are stereotyped as rude and unfriendly.

Glenn Collaku