A Saturday full of New Experiences

Today has been a day of surprises, respect, and growing friendships. Our first Saturday at Columbia; we did spend a majority of the day with Mrs. L but we were also very independent. 

As a cohort we all met on campus then walked to a little cafe for breakfast. At about 10 AM we headed to the Subway to meet Mrs. L at the NYU campus. It was fun and exciting to be as independent as we were, traveling through the city and finding our way.

One of my favorite parts of the day, among many, it once we met Mrs. L at the park by the NYU campus. We sat in the park for a little bit enjoying the scenery. I like this part of the day so much because Mrs. L and I discussed my previous trip to the Met; through of which we began to discuss our appreciation of art on several different levels, such as paintings versus sculptures and different artists. I enjoyed being able to connect with Mrs. L on a more intellectual level.

At NYU we sat through an info session, which was very well done and persuading (there was a ten minute video that had a lot of student and professor commentary), and then went on a tour. NYU surprised me. I really wasn't expecting much and definitely not to be impressed, especially after seeing such amazing schools like Sarah Lawrence, Vassar, Yale, and UPenn. Although I don't know how I feel about the open campus concept, I really like the school. I've begun to grow fond of the city and event though I like a more defined campus, I think I could get used to NYU.

There are several things about NYU that I didn't know before and that I find very enticing. Each class size is about 30 people which is not to big, I definitely do not enjoy large class sized. The campus has no gates so you really are living in the city. There are many, many internship (paid and not) options and students at NYU have an average of three internships while at the school. And, my favorite, NYU as the largest study abroad program of any university in the country. I plan to study abroad and with all the options of places to go and how easy NYU makes it, it is all very exciting.

After NYU Mrs. L took us to what must be the best burger restaurant ever. My burger was very very good.

We then took the Subway down to the 9/11 Memorial. This was quite a surreal and heartbreaking trip. Although the whole atmosphere surrounding the memorial was not quite as peaceful (and respectful maybe?) as I had imagined it, it was all so beautiful. The gorgeous design of the pools with a void in the center of each and all the names around each of them is a beautiful tribute to all of the innocent men and women who lost their lives. Each pool is very large and to see all of the names surrounding each is astonishing. The ones I found the most heartbreaking (though the entire situation and everything about it is sad) were the listed names that said, "...and her unborn child."

1776 feet tall, the new World Trade Center

I love how everything surrounding the pools is so symbolic and tranquil (if you take out of the the tourists). Even all of the specially planted trees are symbolic. There is the Survivor Tree which essential represents strength and persistence. This tree has been through 9/11 and a hurricane and has still lived far longer than a tree of the same species usually does. There was a beautiful bouquet of flowers at the base of the tree today. The flowers were personally brought in by the President of France this morning.

Survivor Tree

 The only thing that I found disappointing about the 9/11 Memorial was all of the people. I don't care that there was a lot of people, what got me was that many of them seemed to be there because the Memorial is simply something to see. The impression that I got was that of a tourist atmosphere rather than a beautiful place meant to respect and mourn the loss of hundreds of lives. 

Dedicated to those who fell and to those who carry on.

After the Memorial we headed back to Columbia. Once back on campus I met up with Jackee and we spent the remainder of the afternoon hanging out together. We walked down Broadway to get some Mexican food and then stopped at Duane Reade and bought a small carton of strawberry ice cream. We went back to my dorm and watched the movie One for the Money on my laptop while we ate the food and ice cream. This was all a lot of fun friend bonding time. It was also nice to stop, relax, and watch a movie.

All in all today was a pretty amazing day where I learned a lot and was given the chance to cherish the 9/11 Memorial and everything it represents.

Tomorrow Jackee and I are taking an RA shopping trip to Soho. It's going to be fun. We will get to see all the nice stores in Soho and go thrift shopping.