I've lived in New York for almost five months now. The city has lost quite a bit of it's luster. I blame it on routine. School is going well. Of course, it's a lot of hard work. It better be if I'm going tens of thousands of dollars in debt to pay for it. I've been encouraged, humbled, embarrassed, exhausted, and I've cried several times. But that's all just part of the process.
I have noticed this week, however, that living here has begun to change me and my awareness. I've actually become less aware of my surroundings and the people around me. I've become less considerate. When I began school and became focused on my own little world, all of a sudden I was less interested in the people around me. I've focused on what I need, where I'm going... I understand better now why NY is the way it is. Now that I've caught myself, I'm hoping to zoom out from my life a bit and remember the basics.
Tonight was so neat. I spent about two hours with this girl named Melanie. I met Melanie in early August. She was panhandling in on Broadway near NYU. She's 17-years-old and has been on the street for a few months now. We've talked a couple times in the past, but tonight I just started asking her questions. She started telling me everything about the culture of homelessness, everyone's nicknames, slang terms, the police, informants, the drugs - all the ins and outs of living on the street in the lower east side of Manhattan. It was the most riveting conversation I've had in weeks.
She's agreed to help me by telling me more because I'm writing a song cycle for one of my classes that is focused around a community of homeless people. I'd also like to write a full length musical in the future about a community of homeless people. I want to do this because I believe they are severely misunderstood at times. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to get to know some people who live that life so that I can represent it correctly. It's stories like these that get me fired up to write musicals.
On that note, I unfortunately have to work on homework and write about things I could care less about... like sandwiches...
Pray for me that I get inspiration for these ridiculous prompts!
