PATH thingy

Ysabela Golden

Comp and Lit 1

11-1-11 ( you gotta love that date)

“The people are so different!”
“They are very diverse, aren’t they? But please lets all talk quieter now, okay?”

When I was five years old, I went to Chicago for the first time. It was also the first time I had ever been in a big city. When my family had first drove into downtown Chicago, I loved it instantly. Lots of people, tall buildings, and tons of noise- It was just perfect for me. My brother didn’t like it as much, which of course just added to its appeal. I happily peered out of the backseat window of the car, glued to the sights and sounds of the “windy city”. When we got to our hotel, it was just as amazing as the rest of the city.

The next day we were going to the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen, and I was really looking forward to it. But I was looking forward to the ride even more than the destination. We were going on the “El”, the elevated track that runs around Chicago. I had never been on a train or a subway before, and I was really hyped up for the ride. And I wasn’t disappointed.

First of all, the ride was really sweet. I loved how the train bumped and rattled around, making me feel like I was on a roller coaster. My parents wanted me to sit down, but standing up and holding on to the strap was a lot more fun.

Second, I was fascinated by the other passengers. There was so much diversity! At my school in Grand Haven, most everyone looked the same. And my school had a huge variety of students compared to some of the other schools in the area. So it was a shocker when I saw this, I thought absolutely anyone could come on that elevated train thingy and they would fit right in. Which is pretty cool, when you think about it. I was completely amazed by all the people, how diverse they were, and how they were all standing together on a train thing anyway. I was so amazed I actually commented on how different they all were, so of course my mom had to describe what I was seeing before I started talking loud enough for someone to hear me and get offended.

After this moment in my life I never saw Grand Haven the same way again. Partly because of the obvious reasons, like “Wow! a place like that is actually connected by lake to my hometown!”  But mostly because it was startling to come back to what used to be my whole world, and find it simply wasn’t anymore. I had traveled before, but somehow this experience on the El changed me like nothing else had. I started to understand words adults used that I had never gotten before. I mean I would ask one of my teachers what “racism” or something meant and they might try to explain, but It would never make any sense because I just didn’t have any experience with that type of thing. But then I got back and I started to realize what people meant when they talked about people who were different then them.

This is a significant part of my life because it changed how I look at life. It expanded how I see the world and showed me something that I had never seen before. A new culture, new ideas, and an appreciation for diversity. This is important to me because this was the first time my world-view changed. Hopefully this is just the beginning of my discovering the world.