In this city, people are alway seem so busy, whether its on a weekday or a weekend, and the question I have for them and myself is; are we happy where we are right now? Or the moment we stepped out the house at 7a.m in the morning? While I was rushing to school, I notice there are many adults with their briefcases, students with their backpacks. New York City is a beautiful city and we, the young one always ignored the beauty of it. Yes, the young one, because we still in the early stage of our life and we got caught up with responsibilities. People in their late stage of their life are the one who notice the changes and the beauty of this city. When we are on our ways to our destination, our moods either tired, fed up, sleepy or annoyed. There are ways to boost up our mood early in the morning, and depends on if you have extra time for it. A walk through a path filled with nature or peacefulness can helps you relief your stress and achieve your inner desire for calmness.

The route I take to get to my class is a common route that multiple people take. I’ve never notice any details as I rush to my class, the views from the first day became parts of my memories and I’ve never bother to go update or renew it. Weeks ago, I came up with the thoughts of walking through the same route but in a slow pace. I stepped out the R train station, passed through the mall. When I looked in, I saw worker placing the food in it’s section. The steam from the food blurred out the windows and also my view. I walked through the same path everyday but never noticed the changes. Between the NYU building and the Chipotle, there’s a little road with light poles on each side. If you look carefully, you’ll noticed the Christmas light decoration around the poles, waiting for night time to come for them to brighten up the street. Instead of making a turn towards Starbucks like I usually do, I walk straight to the other NYU building. There’s a little park on NYU’s campus, when I was walking towards it, There’s a giant Christmas tree in the middle of the road. The Christmas tree is something that wasn’t there in the first place, the community put it up due to the upcoming Christmas season. When I enter the park, the leaves are resting on the ground, the trees are held bald, however, it does not ruin the peacefulness of this park. In the park, there are benches for passengers or students to relax. The views calm me down, brought peacefulness in my heart.

There are multiple routes to the school but R train takes less times and more efficient. Our daily commute can be delayed which cause ruins our morning and that’s why choosing the right route can gives our mood a little twist. My daily route might seem common but it’s the little details that separate it from common to enjoyable.

Draft.

  In today’s society, I believe a list of criteria should be created in order to evaluate a monument whether the monument should be removed or remain in its place. I believe the community needs to focus on the money invested into the monument. How much was spent, and how much money the monument is making. Similarly, we should also need to focus on the person/people/idea related to the monument. What history does it have behind it? What does it stand for? The location of the monument should also be evaluated.

      New York City is having a tough time dealing with controversial monument. I propose a set criteria should be set, indoor to evaluate the monuments and see whether we should be removed or remain in its place. First thing to remember, what has this person done in history? Labeling his significance of the statue is an important step. What happens if we talking about a controversial monument. For example, there is a statue of J. Marion Sims in central park, New York. DeNeen L. Brown wrote an article in The Washington Post explaining how the people demand the removal of the statute. J. Marion was known as the “father of gynecology”. Even though J. Marion was a great surgeon, the people didn’t like the idea of how he came to be. He experimented on enslaved women without anesthesia. Coming back to the idea on has the person done in history, the people of New York City do not want to remember a man who practiced on enslaved black women. A monument is defined “A lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great”, I don’t think the people in the neighborhood want to remember a man who was cruel to women. The residents of New York City don’t want a reminder of the treatment of black enslaved women, they believe the monument should be taken down.

       Secondly, a monument should be evaluated on the money that gets invested. Many monuments are funded by the government or by a private investor. A monument that can bring the support of both parties can be very beneficial. The 9/11 memorial is recognized for the lives lost on September11, 2001. The people that were trapped in the buildings and died, and we also recognize the men and women who risked their life trying the save the people in the buildings. David B. Caruso and David Porter calibrated in a article in nbcnew.com that states the monument cost about $700 million to build. In Addition, the yearly cost to operate such monument will be $60 million. They state that the monument need private security due to the fact that at one point it was subject to a tersest attack. The security is also very expensive, $12 million a year. Investing this amount of money into a monument is outstanding. The 9/11 memorial is one of the top visited sites. In order to get in to see the monument, you would need to pay. The amount of tourists that visit monument every year is outstanding, it one of the most recognized site in New York City.   

             Evaluating a monument is never easy. Location is key in evaluating a monument. Is the person/event relevant to the region? Does it interfere with anyone? Understanding if the person is relevant to the region is not a difficult task. Doing some research on the person/event could also help us understand the true meaning of the monument. Christopher Columbus is a well known man all around the world. He is known for discovering the Caribbean islands and opening up America for European colonization. Due to the fact he is more relevant in the Caribbean’s island, we should set a monument there and there alone. Additionally, a monuments location should not interfere with anyone. Manhattan is high populated area, having a monument in the middle of the streets or even on the side of the road could affect the daily routines of people. Living in New York City, I understand how difficult  is to move around, especially with tourists. Tourists go around New York City looking for these monuments, trying to understand our rich history. These people stand in the way trying to take these photos, trying to get the perfect shot. Relocating these monuments, moving them to museums or even to less populated areas could help out the community.

      In Conclusion, in order to determine whether to remove the monument or leave the  monument in place, a set criteria should be created. A monument should be evaluated on its effect on the region. What has the individual done to stand out in history. In addition, the location of the monument could place a key role in its removal. Last but not least, money also provide a big role in its removal. Is the monument worth the investment? I believe in this set criteria, to evaluated monuments and determine if the monument should remain in its place or be removed.