The World I Hear (in Here and Over There).

Voices are the predominant sound that my ears pick up on my daily treks to New York. Only second to voices would be the loud screech of an oncoming train while I await the shuttle at Times Square to Grand Central and thereafter the 6 train to the 68th Street - Hunter College stop. These two sources of sound frequently merge, especially when I'm on the train. I do have to admit, though, I usually hear them in a hushed frequency because of the music I turn all the way up. I do this, in part, to escape from hearing the unintelligible conversations people have on the train, or anywhere really.

There is such a sense of vibrancy when I somehow energize and run through Times Square to Port Authority on my way home from school. The soundscapes that I experience in this rush of sorts, although completely unnecessary, is one of kinetic music, beeping horns, and yelling voices. It is such an extraordinary affair, as if I am transcending everyone surrounding me and I am capable of anything.

Hunter's proximity to Central Park is advantageous to students who would like to escape the loud voices, beeping horns, and subway car howls. I oftentimes find myself wandering there alone, when I do not even have enough time between classes to stay for more than fifteen minutes. Of course, there's the initial assault of tourists gazing and pontificating about how lovely everything is, but after overcoming that one can reach some sort of solitudinous state of being. With only the birds chirping, and the faraway cries of human speech, it is quite possible to achieve a higher level of consciousness, akin to running through the cacophony of Times Square.