This mosaic is from the Art for Transit collection designed for the MTA, see more here

Riding public transportation in New York can be a real trip! While I’m certainly looking forward to (finally!) getting my driver’s license and getting a car, public transportation is environmentally friendly and it gives me a lot of time to think and reflect on things. Another thing riding the buses and subways enables me to do is people watch – and watch I do.

One thing that always strikes me is the way you can immediately distinguish tourists from native New Yorkers. Tourists always look out of place: they’re looking around, not quite sure where they’re going, blocking the exits and just generally moving awkwardly. Natives on the other hand, move more fluidly: they know exactly where the train door is going to open; they know the exact moment to step to the side to let someone on or off, they know which staircase will bring them out exactly where they need to be, they navigate with ease.

This observation led me to ask the question: In the city that is life? Are you a tourist or a native?  Of course, we all begin as tourists, of sorts. No one knows exactly where they’re going at first, but after you’ve been “riding the subway” of life for a certain number of years, there’s a certain sense of ease with which you begin to move around. If we’re still walking around with the same wide-eyed look, being bumped all around instead of forging your own path and holding your own, it may be time to do some reflection and reevaluation.

Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? What “train” do you need to get on to get there? If you’re not sure, there are lots of maps “station helpers” around to help you figure it out – use them! Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do you can! Believe in yourself and make a plan and you’ll be navigating life like a native in no time.

Peace & Positivity,
‘Funlayo