A Day to Remember

Life this past week has been busier than ever. Each day, I only have a few moments of free time and endless actives to participate in. Days filled with classwork, the meeting of new people, and the exploration New York City have made my schedule the fullest it has ever been. With this busy schedule comes the importance of managing time well. As the program progresses, the workload will increase and my social life probably won’t decrease. This means that I will have to use my time more effectively. I’m ready for the challenge and interested to see how I manage my time.

Today I woke up five minutes before my alarm went off. Interestingly enough, I set my alarm at 8:55, which would have only given me five minutes to get ready and walk across campus to meet the rest of the cohort. I’m glad I woke up “early”. With a whole entire ten minutes to get ready, I made it to our meeting place with time to spare.

After a delicious breakfast at a nearby café, we boarded the subway and headed to NYU.  Now, the exact location of NYU is hard to pinpoint. There is no campus. Our tour guide claimed that a nearby park could be considered the center point, but I prefer the idea that NYU is so seamlessly integrated into the city that there is no central area.

The information session for NYU was one of the most impressive information sessions that I have attended. Participating in ILC for two years has enabled me to see my fair share of information sessions. We first watched a very informative and artsy film about the school. I had no idea that NYU has campuses all over the world. Its study abroad program is one of the best in the world and the diversity on its campuses is almost unparalleled. There’s no question about it, NYU is a very unique place. Our tour would help to reinforce this idea. As we walked along the city streets our tour guide would point out seemingly anonymous city buildings, only to tell us that the school owned them. We entered a few of these buildings and each one was absolutely beautiful. The library was especially impressive. NYU houses 3.8 million books, which is equivalent to 26 miles of stacks.

After visiting NYU, we walked through Soho to an excellent, organic burger restaurant. I ordered the California elk burger and it was absolutely delicious. I know that if I attended NYU, this restaurant would be a favorite for me.

Our next stop was the 9/11 Memorial. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting. When we arrived at the entrance, the hoards of people combined with the impressive security system made it feel as though I was entering an airport and an amusement park at the same time. When we finally arrived inside, the masses of people made the environment less somber that I felt it could have been. Still the architecture was impressive and the vast amount of trees provided an alternative to the landscape of the rest of the city. The memorial contains a north pool and a south pool. These pools represent the footprints of the twin towers. Each pool is identical except for the thousands of names that are engraved on the sides of the pools and represent those who lost their lives on September 11^th, 2001.

September 11^th, 2001 is a date that will forever live in the hearts of Americans as a horrific tragedy. Growing up in the post 9/11 era has influenced me in innumerable ways. Although I was unaware of the significance of 9/11 when it occurred, I have come to recognize the impact these attacks had on not only the United States, but also the world. Each time I am reminded of the September 11 attacks, I am filled with sadness. Having the opportunity to visit the memorial today was incredible. I know that I will never forget the experience.