When I hear the word “uptown”, I ironically automatically think of the wealthy people that walk through Wall Street, despite it being almost as downtown as it can get. Ever since I was a little girl, I would stare in awe as my mother (who worked on Wall Street) would take me to work with her there and lead me into the fancy buildings. I had never seen so many people in suits and dresses, hair slicked back or in buns, sipping water that was in fancier cases than the usual Poland Spring.
This was not my world. This was not my mother’s world. But it was the world we were forced to pretend to be a part of. It was a world we strived for, tried to be a part of, but could never achieve. We lived in Queens at the time, a crowded city with bustling people and dirty buses. But when I entered Wall Street, this was a whole new city and I marveled at the excellence of it all.
Compared to my average middle class life, whenever I went to work with my mom, I felt like I had something to strive for. Although I would never want to work on Wall Street, I could feel the motivation and the passion for those who worked there, and that is something I would like in my future. The Wall Street life is something mysterious and compelling at the same time. It is also something superficial. And it is also something that represents the anticipation of those who want to be big shots.
