Albert is a senior at my former high school who lives in Englewood, New Jersey. He also takes the bus most days but unlike me he goes across the George Washington Bridge everyday during rush hour.
I face-timed with Albert to interview him about his experience. As soon as he accepted the face time and it connected, we starting reminiscing about our memories. After a few funny stories from when we were in school together I popped the questions. His feelings were actually very similar to mine due to our good experience with close friends. Although he came to high school with five other boys from his old school who remained very close throughout the transition together. I asked him how long it took to get to school and he replied, " I woke up at around 6:20, it took thirty minutes or so with out traffic but on bad days I spent an hour on the bus". His bus had many more people on it than mine did but despite that they were very close and even engaged the bus driver in conversations. Albert confessed "one time he stopped at Starbucks for us on our way to school, and ever since we have our morning Starbucks runs with the bus driver and the entire bus before we get on the bridge, he’s the man". |
"Was it tiring or ever a burden for you to commute"? I asked. He replied by saying it was not a burden but sometimes he got so frustrated with it. But it was worth it to him because of the life it gave him socially and the friendships he made.
For me, it felt as if I had two different parts of my life in two different places. I wondered if he felt the same because he entered the school with close friends already. He said "it defiantly felt like my home and school were in two different places but my friends and I went to high school together so my life was pretty much the same in both places, just the scene is different". I thought it was interesting that the scene was different to him so I asked him to elaborate. "The atmosphere is different and how people act and hang out is different. In Englewood we all just chill but in the city there always is a plan and much less laid back". I agree but I also think that life in the city as a laid back aspect to it. Although it is busier and a little tenser there is so much mobility and freedom. Albert agreed with my opinion but also felt the way people socialize there is very different. |
"Also all of our parents have known each other forever so it’s easier for us to stay as close as we are. We all grew up together there’s just history that will make us able to stay closer".
"The city one hundred percent made me a little different. I was a tiny immature kid before I switched schools. Obviously some of that is because I was younger and came from middle school but still, it made me more mature". I found it interesting that Albert and me had many of the same thoughts. I know he spends more time in Englewood than I do in Westchester so he was a little less infatuated with Manhattan and had less of a connection to it because most of his closest friends live in his neighborhood. Despite all of that, he feels it was a good decision and many benefits came from the struggles and differences between his two lives. |