Diversity, in all its forms stares us in the face, every moment of everyday. From the very first step that you take out of your house, differences in your neighboring houses, plants, cars, people, shoes loom before us. But in our hustle bustle and constant rush to get to places, all of these small, seemingly insignificant pixels don’t even make it into the frame. I wake up each morning thinking that its way too cold and way too early, that I’m already running ten minutes late, who I’m hoping to see in my day and how I’ve done too much shopping but still have so much to buy.
On one of my infinite tube rides, I began looking around at the immense amount of people and how no two people were in any way at all, similar. It was intriguing how people’s styles, moods, colors were so different. As I watched, I realized that those not sleeping or reading, were also looking around, watching others in their boredom. It made me wonder what everyone’s story was, especially those who looked like they just didn’t belong in the London underground because they looked too happy and smiled at the people around them or because they were dressed oddly or simply because they looked lost. It got me wondering if I looked like that, as though I didn’t belong. Living in a foreign country, in the simplest term, is confusing. For me, London and Dar, are like oil and water, total opposites. Yet here I am, with one foot on each side, trying to stay up straight. This balancing act can be tedious and rather emotional. It’s always wishing that you were at home, feeling safe and comforted, with the people that mean the most to you but at the same time wanting to be exactly where you are, living your own life. Its finding comfort in anyone who can actually relate to you and feeling slight envy and annoyance at those who insincerely sympathize and then go home to their families.
Looking around the tube made me think about how insignificant I was, let alone my measly problems and emotions. We are all always so lost in our own thoughts and own lives and own problems that we forget how much there is to appreciate. When a natural disaster strikes, that we hear about on the news, we feel sadness and empathize but the reality of the immenseness of the world and our roles in the world, outside of our little bubbles, conveniently slip to the back of our minds once the TV is switched off. Sometimes its important to try and look at your life from someone else’s eyes or try and walk in somebody else’s shoes, to keep you grounded and let you focus on the whole frame rather than the minor blemishes.
On one of my infinite tube rides, I began looking around at the immense amount of people and how no two people were in any way at all, similar. It was intriguing how people’s styles, moods, colors were so different. As I watched, I realized that those not sleeping or reading, were also looking around, watching others in their boredom. It made me wonder what everyone’s story was, especially those who looked like they just didn’t belong in the London underground because they looked too happy and smiled at the people around them or because they were dressed oddly or simply because they looked lost. It got me wondering if I looked like that, as though I didn’t belong. Living in a foreign country, in the simplest term, is confusing. For me, London and Dar, are like oil and water, total opposites. Yet here I am, with one foot on each side, trying to stay up straight. This balancing act can be tedious and rather emotional. It’s always wishing that you were at home, feeling safe and comforted, with the people that mean the most to you but at the same time wanting to be exactly where you are, living your own life. Its finding comfort in anyone who can actually relate to you and feeling slight envy and annoyance at those who insincerely sympathize and then go home to their families.
Looking around the tube made me think about how insignificant I was, let alone my measly problems and emotions. We are all always so lost in our own thoughts and own lives and own problems that we forget how much there is to appreciate. When a natural disaster strikes, that we hear about on the news, we feel sadness and empathize but the reality of the immenseness of the world and our roles in the world, outside of our little bubbles, conveniently slip to the back of our minds once the TV is switched off. Sometimes its important to try and look at your life from someone else’s eyes or try and walk in somebody else’s shoes, to keep you grounded and let you focus on the whole frame rather than the minor blemishes.
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