My Experience on the Subway, April 27, 2015 Daily Reflection

Boston Subway

Boston Subway

We rode the subway system during our trip to Boston recently. There are no subway systems where I live so it was a different experience for me. There is something about riding a subway that almost lulls me into a trance like state of simply observing and not really talking. I became a complete people watcher on the subway system and there were so many different people to watch.

I almost minored in sociology in college. The subway is a perfect place to implement social experiments. There were families with young children, elderly people, teenagers, young college adults from Havard, working people; dressed in professional attire, as well as uniforms. There were people with manners, who stood up to let the elderly have their seats. There were people with no manners, playing vulgar music, with explicit lyrics loudly, knowing that little children were there. There were cheerful people who told my husband congratulations for running the marathon. There were people who looked others up and down and looked completely annoyed by their existence. I suppose we were all looking at each other, wondering, observing, and just staring.

Our world is like the subway system. We are all going different places but we eventually end up on the same train. We have all come from unique experiences causing us to act with certain behaviors. We all judge each other and watch passively as we see one another enter and exit the doors to another place in life. When people see you what do you want them to observe about you? Do you want to show them a smile, kindness, a person obsessed with technology playing with your phone, an angry expression, a far away look, or a nod of your head acknowledging your presence? Think about it the next time you are in public how do you want to be seen by others? We will all be on the same journey and pass each other at different times in life. What do you want the experience to be like for yourself, as well as others?

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