As I walked down into the dungeons, the smell of cigarettes and burnt rubber was the first to attack my nose. After just exiting the rumbling buses from Port Authority, I was now in the belly of the New York City subways. Never having been there alone, I knew I would face many difficulties in this new maze. No longer was I in the sunny and spacious area of New Jersey where the only way to get anywhere was through a safe and comfortable car; I needed to navigate the snake-like passages of the subways that would end up biting my time away if I took the wrong tracks. Thinking back, I often ask myself, how did I get myself into that mess?
My parents had agreed to let me go to the STEM program that I applied to at Cooper Union during the summer but were concerned about the prospect of me being alone in the bustling city. With volleys of discussions across the family room about suggestions on which bus and subway I needed to take, I was finally allowed to climb the creaking wooden steps back up into my habitat. However, as my room drowned out all the noise outside, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had made the right choice, as I didn’t have anyone to give me a ride into the city but myself. My dad was always scrambling to get to work in the early morning while my mom needed to be with my younger sister at home. The only solution was to take the bus from Tenafly into the Port Authority, then figure out the subway that would take me close to Cooper Union to , and then walk there from the station. The days seemed to meld together as the start of the program approached. Then, on a sunny Wednesday morning, completely opposite of my mood, it was time for me to embark on this Odyssey.
After being dropped off in downtown Tenafly, I got on the tired bus that seemed to groan under the weight of grumbling commuters on the way to New York. With all the seats filled, I decided to sit next to a well-dressed man. His dark brown coat was quite fitting as it snuggly fit in a banana-colored tie. He also wore Hawthorne round tortoise glasses that helped cover the dark circles under his eyes, which suggested a lack of sleep. Turning around, he gave a slight nod to signal a greeting and then promptly went back to completing the day’s Wordle. I decided to open up my summer reading book, The Grapes of Wrath, which I had neglected to read and which now caused my eyes to droop and led me to promptly fall asleep.
I woke up with a start to the man tapping my shoulder, I had finally arrived in New York City. Never even knowing the name of the man in the banana-colored tie, I left the bus to find the subway.
As I descended into the fiery pits of Tartarus, the stuffy air from the underground trails rose like poisonous vapor. My scared fifteen-year-old self thought I saw the eyes of people preying on my brand-new Adidas backpack, maybe suspecting me as an easy target. With nothing to look at but my gray New Balance shoes stepping across discarded cigarettes and sprinkled gravel, a train of anxiety built up inside of me. As I reached the hazardous yellow line before the tracks, I directly faced the empty abyss where the train would be shortly arriving. A sudden fear that someone might shove me onto the trail made me inadvertently jump back.
My soul felt as if it were wrenched out of my body as the train roared and screamed along the tracks with a sudden halt seemingly appearing out of the blue. I took a moment to steal myself before I entered the train, expecting to see dirty seats and weary souls going for another day to slave away at their jobs. The complete opposite met my eyes. People seemed to all be in their own world with headphones jacked into their ears and others talking about recent news. As people came and went, I couldn’t help but notice how everyone seemed to be preoccupied with their thoughts. Following suit of others, I put on my Sony Headphones and tuned into “Season” by Wave to the Earth, which washed over me with calmness. As another train passed by, I could see another group of people getting along to their destination. I found it strange that this could be the first and last time I would meet these people ever again.
The loud screech of the tracks woke me from these philosophical reveries. After emerging from the subway at Union Square, I swiftly navigated my way back to the bustling streets above, where the cacophony of screeching trains was replaced by the blaring horns of cars and buses. Reflecting on my initial encounter with the labyrinthine underground passages, I realized it wasn’t as daunting as I had imagined. With its intricate network serving over three million commuters daily, the subway system stands as a vital lifeline in the heartbeat of a city that never sleeps, offering an unparalleled means of traversing its vast urban landscape. This experience of traveling to the city left me with a feeling of independence. I knew that I had conquered my fears of the tracks and embraced the vibrant spirit of the city.
