Living in New York people grasp certain habits and often lose sight of the setting around them as if they’re wearing blinders. People often focus on how fast to get where they’re going and not the experience of the journey. Either tapped into their devices or their conversations, they never stop to think about the beauty around them. Without realizing that they are often shutting off the outside world and not enjoying it as much as they can would allow people to understand the things that tourist, whom they seem to get frustrated with, are seeing. Downtown Brooklyn has a lot of views that gives each person a different feel of everywhere in New York. It has the busy shopping center and the quiet neighborhoods along with traffic for those trying to get into Manhattan. New York City College of Technology also known as City Tech is a college located downtown which has many different ways to reach that location. I live on Flatbush which runs very long through Brooklyn itself but there are about three different routes I could take to reach City Tech and they involve taking the bus B41. Of the three routes, the route that is the most important is nature because it can shift a person’s view to getting into the work mode. Nature sends a calming effect to a person experiencing it; without even knowing it, nature can shift a person’s mood from a cranky or tired feeling to a calm feeling, which is why the path of walking through Columbus Park is the best route when walking to City Tech.

The path is about two to three minutes longer than the fastest route. Taking this path would mean that while on the B41 instead of coming off at the last stop which is Tillary Street and Cadman Plaza a person would come off two stops before which is Court street and Joralemon street and enter the park area by making a right after exiting the bus and then a left to the entrance of the park, where at the front they would walk past the Citi bikes on their left. The things a person would see while walking through the park will just bring a person into a calming mood. When you first enter the park there are benches on either side of the walkway and behind those benches are plant plots.  The person would continue walking and they would see the Borough Hall building and in front of those buildings are tables and foldable chairs for people to sit at. The further they walk in, right in front of all the tables and chair they would see the water fountain plot with a section for plants right around it. Past the water fountain, they would keep walking and they would see the walkway gets broader and adjacent to the right of the water fountain is the Borough Hall train station. As they are passing the train station on their far right they would see trees as they curve inwards to the park along the sides of the Supreme Court and on their far left, there are more trees as they curve inwards to the park alongside the street. Separating the trees from being directly in front of them is another walkway along the sides of the Supreme Court. As they continue to walk through the broad middle path, there are plants and flowers plots on either side of them and three historic monuments placed in some of the plant plots. In the mornings the park is usually empty with a few people sitting on the benches and others commuting by foot to reach their destination. In the afternoon the park is more active along with a food market that takes place Tuesday’s and Thursday’s near the train station up to the water fountain. After walking through the park they would make a right and walk down an inclined plane, cross Adam street and make a left to enter City Tech’s doors on their right. While walking they’ll get the feeling of relaxation as if in that moment there is nothing wrong going on in life. Although this route is longer than going straight to the school it is a much more enjoyable experience. The importance of spending a little bit more time just to enjoy your walk is something that can change the way a person views their day as it goes on.

The other routes included walking in directions that had a lot of foot traffic and would be crowded such as Jay Street. Or the path focused on getting straight to the school and a person wouldn’t be able to truly enjoy the beauty around them, instead they’ll be trying to avoid getting in people’s way and weaving through so their path is just as clear. The natural route is more significant than the others because it gives them a time to themselves where they can enjoy the things they see but can also enjoy some alone time instead of rushing and paying attention to everything happening in front of them. It gives them a shift to feeling centered which would help to shift their mood during whichever time of day into a working environment.

In one of the articles from the Huffington Post, online newspaper researchers discussed the benefits of walking and how it may contribute as a “nonpharmacological approach to serious conditions such as depression”. This article outlines the positive effects of walking and how it can affect a person’s mood by decreasing it especially those who have been through trauma. It also links out to another article which had taken a poll about the effects of walking and how much it benefits a person’s well being. Another article from the New York Times discussed how walking can allow people to stop having the tendency of brooding where they think about all the problems wrong in our lives. This gives a different aspect on how to look at life, as people we sit and think about all the things wrong in life while taking a walk and enjoying nature may give you the benefits to see positives as a whole.

All three articles explained the positives of walking and how it may dwindle depression and can stop a person from brooding. Walking is beneficial and something done every day, to change the experience of your walk to better your mood is useful. Not going for a walk to be annoyed and frustrated by the people in front of you but to enjoy the open space and setting around you.  Experiencing nature is a decision that should be made even if it’s more time-consuming. The benefits a person can get from the experience will change a person’s view and priority. It is beneficial because it can help cure the body in a physical and mental way. Many people do not know the benefits of walking which is why it is overlooked. Walking in the city is not the same as taking a walk through nature because walking in the city has people being frustrated with the fact that they cannot get to where they need to be. The best places to experience nature genuinely is through a park or an area where it isn’t closed off by a bunch of buildings but more of an open space where you can get in touch with nature. Therefore, a walk through Columbus Park on your way to City Tech is one of the best routes to take when you’re shifting into a working environment.