Friday, September 16, 2011

What I Hear

For this assignment I decided to take a walk through Union Square. I figured it would be a good place to go because it is always bustling with people and activities. As I walked up the stairs of the subway station, the first sounds that caught my attention were those of the cars driving by and buses making screeching sounds as they stopped and started again. While I could hear people talking all around me I couldn't pick out any one conversation as I walked along, the voices all seemed to blend together into just a humming of voices. I continued to walk past people on the sidewalk and I heard the sound of music blasting from someone's headphones which were way too loud. I heard the sounds of a skateboard and boots stomping on the pavement. Someone's keys or change were rattling in their pocket. I heard the crinkling sounds of shopping bags and the honking of a car.

I walked to Union Square Park and sat on one of the benches for a little while. The first sounds I heard were the flapping of birds' wings and their chirping and also the sound of squirrels playing in a tree. I could hear the leaves from the trees rustling in the wind. Across from me I heard the sound of a soda can being popped open and I could hear the faint singing of someone nearby. A girl walked by with a hula hoop and I heard the beads rattling inside it. Somewhere behind me was a noise that sounded like someone cracking their gum. I then heard the sound of newspaper pages being turned. As I got up to leave I saw a dog being walked and I could hear the clinking noise of its dog tags. Something I thought about as I was sitting there taking in all of these sounds was that not all of them were as easily identifiable as I would think, even though they were made by ordinary objects or actions that we encounter every day. I really enjoyed this assignment because I think we should always be more aware of our surroundings instead of just constantly walking around with headphones on and ignoring everything that goes on around us.

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