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.

New York City has been and always will be a place known for its boisterous noises and wild energy that is the lights, people and entertainment. Even if we don’t think about it, sound is always apart of our daily routines in the mornings, weather its hearing the alarm clock or walking through the streets listening to the unorganized symphony of cars honking. Sound is what keeps us going and what gets us moving faster even if you don’t realize it, an example would be the ticking of a wristwatch that would no doubt make you speed up just a tad faster in order to make it to work on time, or the sound of the Starbucks barista yelling out your name to alert you that your coffee’s ready. There is no doubt that we rely on sound, however, the blissful serenity that is quiet is not a daily constant that most people get to enjoy. I have found the best route to make sure that my commute from home to school is the quietest route.

One day on my own commute to school, I took the long way. One way for me to get to school is to walk down five blocks away from my house to the B41 bus, during that walk its quiet in my neighborhood and I like to hear the sound of the wind breezing past me as a car drives by because its very peaceful. When I reach the bus stop which is on Bedford Ave, I see a lot of people who are waiting for the bus dressed in their nursing scrubs or business casual wear, and younger people who are around my age or younger who have a dazed look in their eyes, or a very blank expression blasting their music on their headphones. When the bus finally comes, it makes a very loud screeching noise as it approaches which annoyingly interrupts the calm flow of my own music. The bus is always crowded but noise is usually kept to a minimum as the riders are either silent scrolling on their cellphones, or quietly chatting to their friends or asking a stranger if this is the right bus to be on. As for me I am a person who is always musically attuned, I usually start off my mornings with lo-fi hip hop beat instrumentals and soft R&B. I really like my music because it isn’t too loud and isn’t too quiet, but it has the right amount of slow beat that I can bob my head to. The ride down Flatbush is much more peaceful that way. When I get off at Atlantic Ave, I begin weaving my way through the insane amount of people who are very loud and awake which makes the walk annoying to hear the dissonance meshing sounds of cars honking and the music playing in my headphones. When I get reach City Point on DeKalb always makes my mornings a little bit better as I get to breathe easy in the open and quiet space inside on the first floor. Although on Jay Street, it’s even more loud and crowded my mornings are always better with those small five minutes of quiet, listening to my chill music.

There are many people who enjoy listening to their favorite tunes in the morning, weather it be slow jazz or loud rock music. There are many benefits to listening to music, especially in the morning according to Sandra Pawula of ‘‘How listening to music benefits the brain’’, “Listening to music triggers the brain’s nucleus accumbens, responsible for releasing the feel-good neurochemicals dopamine”(Pawula.). Music can help relieve some anxiety problems and reduce stress. It is even more beneficial to listen to music if you’re a student studying hard because Pawula also states that “science has shown that listening to music enhances reading and literary skills, reasoning and mathematical abilities”(Pawula). So creating a well rounded studying playlist so that you can concentrate is an extremely good idea if you’re determined to remain focused and energized. In addition to that, Deane Alban of ‘‘How music affects the brain for the better’’ claims that, “listening to music at work can make you a happier, more productive employee, especially if it’s the music you’ve chosen”(Alban). Music can improve your mood to a positive one and thus make you into a motivated person who completes tasks at a quicker rate. Alban also infers that, “Music … helps students excel in the following ways: improved language development, improved tests scores and increased spatial intelligence”(Alban). Music is a subject that is very easy to dismiss because of the stereotypes that surround people who prefer to listen to to a certain type of music more than another. Music has a lot of unseen benefits that can help the brain keep healthy and stay active which helps us do well on tests, learning abilities and overall intelligence.

In conclusion, sound is a constant in our lives that we are always adapting to in order to benefit our own need of survival depending on our environment. Quiet is a sound that is very under appreciated, I took a route of quietness and I valued the few minutes I got to spend when it was just my music alone.

Works Cited

1. Pawula, Sandra, et al. “How Listening To Music Benefits Your Brain.” The Best Brain Possible, 1 Dec. 2017, www.thebestbrainpossible.com/how-listening-to-music-benefits-your-brain/.

Alban, Deane. “How Music Affects the Brain for the Better.” Be Brain Fit, 22 Nov. 2017, bebrainfit.com/music-affects-brain/

In this city, people always seem so busy, whether it’s on a weekday or a weekend, and the question I have for them and I are; are we happy where we are right now? Or the moment we stepped out the house at 7 a.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 of we still in the early stage of our lives and we got caught up with responsibilities. People in their late stage of their life are the one who notices the changes and the beauty of this city. When we are in 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 help you relieve 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 the same route but at 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 its section. The steam from the food blurred out the windows and also my view. I walked the same path every day 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 notice 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, in the middle of the road stands 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 to my heart.

   There are researchers proving that taking a walk in nature can affect your brain’s function the way of thinking. According to Gretchen Reynolds, the editor of “How walking in Nature changes the brain’ states that ‘A walk in the park may soothe the mind and, in process, change the workings of our brains in ways that improve our mental health, according to an interesting new study of the physical effects on the brain of visiting nature.” Walking in a green area helps the human body feel relieved, which revolves changing our way of thinking and since most of our generation spend their times outdoor dealing with stresses and anxiety, seeing the color green gives our brains a break and drop all of the stresses. Experiments are made to prove the hypothesis.

  The color green define as safe and secure in our daily life, nature’s green can make us feel safe walking in that area. Lindsay Holmes, the author of ‘This is your brain on Nature’ said that “Research consistently finds that nature has a profound impact on the brain. A 2014 study found that participants who took group nature walks saw a host of mental-health benefits, including decreased depression and better moods.” Nature is like a medicine that heals us whenever we’re stressed or have the mental issue. It’s not just a saying, it’s being scientifically proven.

   There are multiple routes to the school but R train takes fewer times and more efficient but most importantly is because of the path that I have to walk through every day. Every season the decorations around the area are changing but the feeling of nature surrounding me does not fade away. There are times that the commute can be the death of us in the morning due to delays, that’s why we need to choose the right route for us to relax without stopping our legs. Every route you take has their own unique surroundings and aroma, you just need to take your eyes off your phone so you can spot it.

Work Cited:

1. “This Is Your Brain On Nature.” by Lindsey Holmes. Published; 08/10/2015 08:17.
   1. Gives evidences on how nature can affect our brains, helps us cure stresses, mental issue.

2. “How Walking in Nature Changes the Brain” by Gretchen Reynolds. Published; JULY 22, 2015