What I hear. | Soundwalk

On Friday, March 25th, I went for a walk.
Yup.
At Central Park.
Friday was a beautiful day, perfect for a stroll around the park. I walked in through the East side and sat on the first bench I saw. I'm the type of person who can lay down, close my eyes, and mindlessly wander for hours. I enjoy doing that because it gives me a time to recharge after a fast-paced busy day in the city. When I was given this assignment, I was more than happy to start it. I waited and waited for the best day to go to central park, only because I never go there, even if it's right behind Hunter College. After sitting down, I looked around and as much as I don't like looking like a lonely girl with no friends in public, I forced myself to sit and act as if this was normal. Then, I closed my eyes. The moment my eyes were closed shut, my ears were opened. What I heard was perfect. Everything was perfectly orchestrated. What I heard was something I never really acknowledged. Almost as if my ears immediately blocked it out and because most of the time, I clog my ears with the music on my "Train" playlist, I never appreciated what the sound of the city held for me. I can't really explain exactly what it was like. It was almost like a musical where the theme was "Realization" or "Breathe". It's true that we never seem to appreciate the sounds of nature. I'm not just talking about the whoosh of the wind, the brussels of the trees, or the chirping of the birds. I mean, even people talking and the cars bonking. Everything is just so common and my ears grew so familiar to the natural sounds of the city that it was equivalent to silence and whatever added on, like the songs that came out of my earphones, were what I considered real sounds. There is something really special about the sounds of Central Park. The clopping of the horse and the laughter of the children waiting on line for ice cream were sounds outside of the usual sounds of the city. I can hear those things and say, "I know which part of the city I am at". And let me tell you, my sense of smell grew strong too and the smell of horse poop is a prominent feature of the whole Central Park experience. Central Park is that one part of the city where you can just take a break, sit down, and take deep breaths. It's where I realized how beautiful the sounds of the city is.