Stop and Look Around

Coming into this trip I had no idea what to expect, so I asked around, researched and made a vast amount of assumptions about what I was getting myself into. I assumed I was entering a city of aggressive drivers, speed walking, and a plethora of workaholics. And, yes all of those things were present, but when I set down my predisposed ideas of what I thought New York was, I learned more than I have in some classes about the world around me and the people within it.

New York is a community of different cultures meshed into one big city of dreams and people. These people make art, music, crafts, clothes, and food. They are mothers, fathers, friends, business people, doctors, lawyers, restaurant owners and everything in between. These people have diverse perspectives and lifestyles but are united within one community. During my time there, I experienced their kindness and saw their stress. Looking behind the commercial appeal of New York City, showed me why it is so magical, and why it is a place where people come to chase their dreams.

When I decided to stop and look around and enjoy the experiences right in front of me, not only did I learn about the cultures of New York but I experienced some of my favorite moments. I saw mothers from all walks of life and their children playing in a community park in the middle of the city. I found a store with more puppies in the window than I had ever seen in my life, and was enlightened by the savory taste of New York pizza. I sat on the subway a few stops farther than I needed to, so I could listen to a man sing, play the guitar and say catchy lines to the people who were riding the subway in order to make them smile or laugh. But the most fascinating experience was when I took a two and a half hour Uber ride from the Newark airport into Manhattan and ended up sharing experiences and commonalities with a 60-year-old man from Morocco who practiced Islam. I am a Christian girl from a small town, who grew up on a farm in Oregon, and I experienced more kindness and saw more empathy in him than I had ever seen in anyone before.

When I stopped to look around I fell in love with a city I was nervous about and took home a new perspective as I move into the advertising world. I realized that we have a lot of work to do. People are more diverse, with different habits, living situations, jobs, and relationships, all of which impact everything they do, and those variables are changing as fast as the digital landscape. So as I enter into the professional world, I will take this experience with me, and remember that taking a second to stop and look around can teach you more about a community than a computer screen ever will.

- Kate Miller 

5.14.18