Link to sketch: LINK
Blog: Write a post on your blog about a (physical) public space you use personally. This might be your local park or green space, a library reading room, a cafe in your neighborhood, or something else entirely. Why do you spend your time in this space rather than any other? What do you like about it? How do you engage with others (if at all) within this space?
The public space that I use most frequently and prominently is the MTA subway. There's a reason why so much media and content about the space is produced by the people who live here. The people who use it are often required to use it at a high frequency to carry out their daily tasks. It has such recognizable sounds (the screeching of the train accelerating, the rumbling against the tracks, "stand clear of the closing doors", muffled train conductor announcements) and recognizable sights (faces buried into their phones, flashing lights from the windows underground, salt and stains on the floor, littered cups of coffee rolling around). Perhaps because of this overstimulating environment, most people tend to retreat inwards, avoiding as much interaction with each other as possible. Since I've gotten noise cancelling earphones, I felt my subway experience has improved drastically. It's a public place, yet my daily commutes feel like a very private time to me. Here, I often sit, put my earbuds in, pull up my mask, and escape into my mind to hasten the experience of the ride. It's a place that is a necessity for me to be in when I use it, but it's also become sentimental. I've done homework, cried, scarfed down quick meals, written journal entries, crafted gifts, napped, watched videos, and got to know people on the train. Despite the lack of comfort, hygiene, and predictability, it's become an important place where people have done so much living and growing up.