Unformed Connections

After a long hiatus, I am rediscovering my passion for writing and newly aiming to continue channeling it through this blog. Since my last blog post, I started a new life in the city of New York. A lot has been and will be said about this city. For me, it is a place of chaos, growth, independence, excitement, opportunity, and so much more. 

It is also home to over 8 million humans! Impressive, right? Not just because of the sheer size of the number - after all there are many cities with greater population sizes. What makes New York unique is the extent of diversity held within its 8 million humans. They come from all corners of the world, all walks of life, all sorts of ideological camps, and carry so many different identities. This is one of the top reasons why I love the city. Anybody can come here from anywhere and fell like it is home... or sort of. No wonder many great things happened in this modern melting pot, which, like many of its historical predecessors, has been at the forefront of civilization!

Now, imagine what a collective network of 8 million of the most diverse groups of humans can do! Yeah... hold that imagination!

Unfortunately, there is only one kind of network truly connecting the 8 million New Yorkers; it is called the Subway. Beyond the green and yellow and red and orange and blue and purple lines that run in its belly, New York is deeply divided along barriers of skin pigmentation, wealth, pedigree, religion, and more. My most shocking New York experience, which I still haven't gotten used to, is segregation. As if in need of a daily reminder of it, my apartment is located on the street that divides Upper East Side - the wealthiest neighborhood in the city - and East Harlem, which is, well one of the opposite. I prefer to call my street - the buffer zone. Few minutes of stroll along Madison or Park avenue crossing the buffer zone easily demonstrates my point. Almost everything changes drastically as one crosses the buffer zone - the accent, skin pigmentation, quality of the buildings, physical and visible mental state of the people, the kind of chain supermarkets and restaurants lining the streets, to name few. Although the buffer zone is a visible, everyday physical evidence of segregation for me, the problem is abound everywhere. Or at least it looks so for me, a fresh-off-the-boat, foreign, African, trans-cultural, black guy who is used to occupying foreign spaces, but is still amazed by New York's lines of segregation which he daily crosses.  

Young people of different races and wealth exclusively mingle among themselves in places that appear to exclusively cater for them. Inter-racial couple are a rarity, despite the fact that the city has substantial number of people of all races, the vast majority of whom claim to be color-blind (that actually explains overabundance of irritating motorists at zebra crossings!). There are subway lines that appear to run under the unofficial color lines of white and brown. There are jobs that appear to require membership of a certain cast, such as Starbucks barista (black and latinos), pizza delivery (latin immigrants), high-rise building security guard (blacks), and my own profession of science (whites and asians). Sometimes, I really wonder whether it is illegal to mix up a little bit in this city (even the hipsters don't mix up, but I guess that's their thing). Of course my observation is not all of New York's reality - and nothing is - but it paints a pretty close picture.

Based on my observation during the past year, the 8 million New Yorkers appear to occupy the same city, but reside in little confederates within the city. To make matters worse, the behemoth, intense, and fast-paced nature of the city pushes people to reside in their own lives. I heard many people complain how lonely the city can be and how hard it is to find meaningful connections. People feeling lonely in the most exciting city of 8 million humans! Dearth of connections in a city of 8 million individuals! 

I don't want to blame people. I believe most people are well-meaning individuals who rightfully attempt their best in pursuit of happiness and a better life. I get it -  as exciting and unique as New York is, it can also be too tough and challenging for many to consider, let alone engage with, anybody outside of their socially prescribed zone. Even if it isn't, people have a tendency to believe that their life is tough, their fight is fiercer, and they are on a mission far more important not to bother with this subject. 

Yet today, I can't help but wonder about what New York, and indeed the world, would be like if there were more connection, even 5% more, among its diverse inhabitants. Imagine all the countless nurturing friendships, innovations, transformations, trans-cultural insights, works of art, understandings, and generally new and super-awesome things that could emerge! But all are presently hidden in the unformed connections. At least until New York becomes more of a melting pot and less of a boiling pot of soup made from potatoes, carrot, onions, meat, broccoli, onions, macaroni, beans, mushrooms, and so much more that I don't even know!