Personal Narrative Essay: My Writing On The Subway

Decent Essays
This essay is written on the subway. There is no plan. There is no purpose. My writing is raw. I am here for the ride. Kipling station— suburban Etobicoke. The beginning of the line. A blur of business suits and Starbucks cups, all rushing to catch the trains. Sounds of cellphones, newspapers and tapping feet in impatient rhythm, flood the station. The train can be heard in the distance, everything quiets down, the calm before the storm. With a gust of wind and three loud beeps the doors open and everyone piles in. I choose the last car, the one with the best view. Islington station— City centre west. Long delays keep us situated here for a while. Though I am not complaining, as the smell of pastries from the subway’s bakery is slowly seeping through the subway walls. …show more content…
Navy blue and grey uniforms exit the cars like a buffalo stampede. They all look the same. What is school doing to children’s originality and uniqueness? Why is it that they want us to be identical, isn’t it our differences that make us great? Old Mill station—scenic views. As we pop above ground the windows are flooded with the glistening sun. The mood is so serene, but is quickly interrupted by cell phones connecting to service and messages coming through. Makes me wonder how technology is disrupting the natural, beautiful things in life. Jane station— Mini Ukraine. Known for the many Ukrainians that have inhabited this area, this station feels like a second home to me. I enjoy eavesdropping on arguing couples and gossiping teenagers. They are so preoccupied with the little things going on in their lives, that they do not notice the amazing musician sitting just feet away. Runnymede station— Bloor-West Village. The longer I sit here, the more I wonder why more people do not take time from their busy lives to sit and observe. There is a certain tranquility to it, that I have yet to find anywhere

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Located only 25 miles from Nashville, the town of Thompson's Satation exists as an oasis from the nearby streets of downtown Nashville. The town's quiet character and small-town charm dwell in a world apart from the frenzied culture of the surrounding areas. The town serves, for many, as a great place to settle down and retire, raise a family, or just enjoy a peaceful life. Recreation Residents of Thompson's Station enjoy access to several parks anc community centers. The recreational needs of the town's residents are met through access to facilities, such as Thompson's Station's Heritage Park, the Bethesda Park and recreation center, the Burwood Community Center, or the YMCA Soccer Fields.…

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    We interact and experience architecture every day. It is physically impossible not to and because of this, it is incredibly easy to take it for granted and to forget about all the thought and care that was taken to create such huge feats. Worcester’s Union Station is located directly off of highway 190 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Thousands of people pass by it on a daily basis without even realizing that it is something more than a “pretty train station”. Before we begin, let’s answer the question of just why are train stations so grand?…

    • 1449 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    waiting for a train? Missing one? 1960? 1961? Why Wilmington?" (Didion p.2.)…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    About Thompson's Station conveniently located only 25 miles south of Nashville, the small picturesque community of Thompson's Station is a great place to live. The small size of the middle-Tennessee community is perfect for those who enjoy the quietude of open spaces with a rural charm. The scenic appeal of Thompson's Station has endured through a long and colorful history. From the town's earliest settlers in 1870 to its great railroading history, Thompson's Station has retained the livability that first brought settlers to the region.…

    • 137 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    EL Train Scenarios

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    My Artist’s Statement on Eric Edward Esper work, the 1977 CTA EL Train derailment the crash killed about 12 people and injured over 180 in that area of Chicago. In the painting I was looking at many people that were being oblivious to their surroundings. Therefore there were more causalities because they were not paying attention the streets and sidewalks still had snow on them, and in the scenery the cars are going the opposite direction from the crash. A closer look at the painting and you can spot the frantic people looking or trying desperately to get out of the train. “The Loop” not only refers to Chicago's central business district, but also a rectangular pattern formed by the city's elevated trains.…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Summer-time in the city brought me to different parts of the MTA that I never encountered before. Riding on the A line for the first time, I found myself catching a glimpse of these little fellows as my train pulled into the 14th Street station. Small, whimsical, pudgy (yes, I said pudgy) statuettes depict commonplace figures, such as a grimacing police woman, an officer (guarding a ball of tin foil), a homeless man sleeping under the stairway (the statue was placed there deliberately, I should think) and many more. As I walked by these figures, I found myself thinking back to my high school history class. These figure look a lot like the cartoon newspaper drawings of the late 1800- early 1900s depicting the bankers and politicians…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Station Eleven Essay

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages

    E: Station eleven is based on a travelling Shakespearian Theatre Company where a post-apocalyptic occurred in North America. The book moves back and forth in time, between the present day and a post apocalyptic setting about 20 years after an illness. It begins with a dramatic end to the Georgia Flu, which explodes…

    • 435 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Guanajuato Research Paper

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Pages

    León, Guanajuato has a mix of history and culture. León, which is known as La Perla del Bajio, it's one of the most beautiful tourist town in Mexico. Leon has many places to stay, which range from first class hotels to cheap hotels. There are also many landmarks where you can enjoy and watch the beautiful architecture of the buildings. Also, The Metropolitan Park, where you can see a lot of green areas, is the place where the Balloons Festival is made and around of 300 balloons participate.…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Parkland Research Papers

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Parkland represents an unincorporated suburb in Tacoma, highlighted with unique circumstance. Because of it being an unincorporated suburb, there is no mayor, council, or own police department that a conventional city would have. It gets the majority of its funding from Pierce County, and the lackluster development of Parkland shows how effective it’s support has been. The lack of governance contributes to Parkland being overshadowed and undermined as a slow community with a weak presence . There are key factors that play into some of the struggles that Parkland encounters such as insufficient regulation and a poor sense of unity.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the heart of downtown Seattle is Pike Place Market. It is one of the most well-known farmer’s market that sits on about nine acres of land from Pike Street north to Virginia Street and from 1st Avenue west to Western Avenue. While it encompasses a large area in between Downtown Seattle and Elliot Bay, it maintains only one address which is 1st Ave and Pike St., Seattle, WA. The “main arcade” is the top of a seven-story structure that houses over 225 independent shops.…

    • 2008 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The next day, my legs were tired but that didn’t prevent me from having an enjoyable day. First we went to the Staten Island Ferry where we rode a ferry past the Statue of Liberty. The ferry was full of people but there were three floors to fit everyone on. It also moved surprisingly fast for such a sizeable boat. The next site on the agenda was to visit Grand Central Station, a rapidly fast train station that carries people from all over the country to and from New York.…

    • 178 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Do you ever wander what you could do to be more careful around railroad crossings? Railroad crossings can be dangerous if you don’t look out for the warning signs. There are many warnings you need to look out for so you can be safe around railroad crossings. There are a lot of things that we need to know about trains, their warning signals, and what we can do to stay safe around railroad crossings. In the article “25 interesting facts about trains” the author wrote, “There is an abandoned subway station under City Hall in New York that no train stops at but you can see it in passing if you take the number 6 train.”…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    My writing experience: I didn’t start to read until I was in first grade. Every week we would go to library to check-out two books and take a test on the books we read on a computer. Every day in English we read a short story to ourselves then we would play games dealing with the story to make it fun. To be honest I never really did a lot of writing in Elementary , Middle, or High school so I can’t pinpoint when I started writing. In essay writing I learned its always good to express yourself with your own opinion.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Follow the Sherlock trail across London Since the time we are born we have many interesting stories circulating our world but what catches to the whims and fancies of our minds is the mystical world of Sherlock Homes a character from the creations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s writings. The character has gone through a multitude of incarnations over the last couple of years. During the recent times in one of the BBC series Sherlock which showcased some of the famous cases that clearly pictured some of the beautiful locations. The series had beautifully and heavily captured the various locations of London that it seemed to be almost another character in the series.…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Being in New York City itself was all too surreal, like a dream come true. Buildings raced each other in a quest to touch the soft blue sky and people littered the streets and sidewalks. Life there was upbeat and fast-paced and everyone and everything was moving, but then you crossed into Central Park. Crossing the sidewalk into the large park was like crossing the border into another world.…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays