Saturday morning, a time when most students would embrace a day off and choose to sleep in and recover from a long week of intensity and work. However, for the cohort, that was not the case and instead of rest and relaxation, our day was full of activity. We departed from the Columbia early in the morning and headed to a local café for breakfast. We got a quick meal and made our way to the subway station conveniently located a few blocks away. After two weeks in New York, I would argue that we have improved our subway navigation skills to around average. We took the train all the way down to Sothern Manhattan. From there we met with Ms. L in Washington Park, the epicenter of New York University.
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| The beautiful Washington Park |
We took a while to bask in the beauty and tranquility of the park. After a couple minutes we proceeded to the building where our informational session would take place. We signed in and then took our seats in a mild-sized gathering hall. The presenter went over the basic facts about NYU and its uniqueness compared to other major universities. As it stands, NYU has the largest study abroad program in the entire nation. It has a total of three degree-granting schools located in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai. Aside from the base schools, there are also opportunities for various programs that are located in cities across six continents and offer a very diverse and unique learning experiences. The overall environment at the school was described to be a community made up of micro-communities. After the conclusion of the meeting we headed out on a short campus tour.
NYU's campus is very unique. Like Columbia it is surrounded by one of the biggest cities in the entire world, however the difference is that NYU chooses not to have conventional university walls and gates. This is based on the idea of fully integrating the school into the city and I must admit that this is the very first school I have ever heard of having this ideology. The entire concept of having the university not just be located in the city but also be a part of it really was mind-blowing for me.
The campus really did feel like city with numerous high rises and a more compact campus. Like New York City, everything was built upward toward the sky. We were able to visit the immense library that the school had, however, the uniqueness of this library came from the height, consisting of many floors each filled with books and resources for students. The appearance of the library really represented the type of school NYU is, compact but still very big on the inside.
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| The new One World Trade Center |
After we finished our tour we headed over to local burger restaurant for lunch. The food was amazing, maybe even on of the best burgers I had ever eaten on the East Coast. The variety of meats and endless combinations made the restaurant very unique in my book. Honestly, it was nice to have the entire cohort together again. When we finished our meal, we once again made our way to the subway station to continue our journey to "Ground Zero".
We embarked from the subterranean sauna that is the subway and immediately were introduced to a spectacle unlike any other I had ever seen in my life, the completed and reconstructed One World Trade Center. The building reached so far into the sky that it seemed to touch the sky. I never was able to see the original Twin Towers, and sometimes I think to myself how amazing it must have been just being able to see them in the skyline. A spectacle I, unfortunately will never be able to witness with my own eyes. However, it does make me proud that the U.S is so resilient. Even after a moment of pure tragedy and hopelessness, the entire country rebounded and pushed forward through united under one flag. Like the quote that President Obama said when he visited the construction site of the new One World Trade Center, "We remember, We rebuild, We come back stronger!". America does not allow itself to be bested by anyone and prevails over any hardship.
As we made our through the crowd and to the entrance to the 9/11 Memorial it became obvious how important security was around it. Cameras and countless officers patrolled all around the perimeter made sure to send the message of order. As we waited in line, I recounted in my head all the stories of the site that people had told me. According to them, the huge realizations of the catastrophic effect and the monumental toll it took on the entire nation that comes to your mind the second you first step into the memorial is enough to make you dizzy.
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| The pool at the foot print of the North Tower |
When we finally went into the memorial area, the realizations everyone had told me about finally began to enter my mind. The knowledge that twelve years ago, on September 11, a little over 3,000 individuals lost their lives there, really made me begin to feel a bit overwhelmed. It was one of the most saddest moments in American history and being at the place where it all happened sparked a set of emotions I had never felt before. As I walked through and saw the magnificent pools that are so simplistic that they are a complete masterpiece, I came across a woman who was standing next to the placard of names and rubbing her hand across it with much sorrow. I instantly knew this had to be the person's mother, and the thought of the horrific sorrow that many parents , husbands, and wives must have had to go through. The thought of how my own mother would feel if I were one of the names on the placard, made me absolutely want to break into tears. Much more was lost on September 11 than just the Twin Towers. There are mothers and fathers who will never see there sons or daughters again, and many of them never got the opportunity to tell each other that they loved each other. Through these thoughts that flashed through my mind, the realization of how precious life can be finally became unwinding. Sometimes we take for granted what some other don't have such as a mother, father, son or daughter. I could never imagine losing my parents or never being able see them ever again. Yet there are some children who were forced to grow up never knowing their fathers or mothers. This experience really made me appreciate everything that I had. Even when the times get tough or hopelessness over takes our souls, we must appreciate the little things that we have.
After a while of seeing the memorial, it was time to leave. We all headed back to the subway and made our way back to Columbia University. This experience taught me a lot. Not only did I learn that life is precious and is promised to absolutely no one but also that the things that we take for granted sometimes are really things that we value the most and could not imagine being apart from. I would have never imagined that something so simple as a memorial could offer me life changing views on life. I feel angry at myself for taking for granted what I've had and I feel that from this day on, my outlook on life will never be the same. This might as well be one on the most memorable days of my entire life and one that has definitely impacted me in more than one way.
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