So You're in a City for the First Time
The first time I went to London in 2018, I balked at the idea of taking public transport from Heathrow Airport to Central London and opted to take a taxi instead. It was a touristy thing to do, but the idea of navigating a new city on public transportation with three suitcases and lingering jetlag was too daunting a task. I eventually learned how to use the underground train, and became comfortable enough to take it into far-flung parts of the city; Brixton, Highbury & Islington, and even an overground train to Ilford for a haircut with the only barber I trusted. I even developed a routine; I would pull up the directions on Google Maps, grab a free newspaper in the station, and enjoy the ride.
Liverpool Street: a packed station in Central London
In Shanghai, the same challenge presented itself. The city was massive and had more interconnecting lines than I’d ever seen. And, for the most part, it was all in Chinese. However, I soon learned enough about the system to go from one side of the Bund to the other, and I became intimately familiar with parts of the city like the French Concession, Moganshan 50, and the Olympic Stadium.
Hangzhou, China
The view from my window in the neighborhood of London Bridge
When I first moved to Brooklyn in the autumn of 2019, I had an hour-long commute from Brooklyn to Midtown West. The first M trains of the morning were always packed so I had to wait for three or four trains to pass through before I could board. I dreaded the commute, but it was what stood between me and my first job at an advertising agency. By winter, I learned to love the commute, and as weeks passed, I proudly stacked all of the books I’d finished reading during my transit routine as a badge of honor. I even became comfortable enough to offer support to travelers on the platform who looked directionless and overwhelmed. “Just take the M train up two more stops and transfer to the J,”.
An art store with a mirror I liked
Though I often find myself in new cities, one thing that remains constant is the initial feeling of dread when I have to learn to navigate the place. The truth about public transportation is that no matter how bad you are at navigating it when you first get there, you always get better. You have to. It’s a matter of survival. Take the train heading the wrong direction from West 4th ST, you pay even more attention the next time. Did you transfer onto the Bakerloo Line instead of the Victoria Line at Oxford Circus? On the way back, you’ll be more aware and save yourself an hour.
The Soho neighborhood of London during an evening in the early spring.
I’ve started to see train stations as a metaphor for life and the challenges we endure when we’re doing something new.
When I first started working in advertising, I would get so scared before big meetings that I would have trouble speaking. It was a combination of things — I was very junior, and I hadn’t developed the chops to hold firm on my stance with ideas. And when I did speak, I would have pages of notes typed up on my laptop to aid me, clumsily scrolling through. It took time for me to feel confident thinking on my feet. But when I did, I was ready to intellectually spar and show that I had indeed done my homework. I always think back to my first moments as a junior in the industry, when my palms would get sweaty before, during, and after meetings, just like when I was in London, desperately trying to figure out how to get from London Bridge Station to Soho.
Pennsylvania Avenue during my first semester at school in Washington, DC.
This holds true in our personal lives, too. At one point, we’ll all find ourselves on a new train line with a name like “grief” or “uncertainty”, with no idea how we got there, or how long we’ll be there. I’ve felt this way more times in my life than I can count. When my parents got divorced, when I found myself struggling in school and personal relationships, and when I decided to leave my last job. The same feeling that filled me when I first got to New York entered my awareness. Feeling overwhelmed in the face of new experiences is table stakes, but not long after, you’ll have wisdom on the topic, ready to guide your friends who find themselves directionless on the platform like lost travelers. And if you still find yourself lost, there are others who have been there before.
The human experience is one of progress, so whichever train you’re waiting for, know that someday you’ll be like an old New Yorker who knows the map like the back of their hand.