Chapter Five:
"Theme for English B"
And with this new found inspiration,
I feel I am finally ready to make my final connection about this site, and I truly understand the culture of the Blacksburg Transit. I immediately think of one of my favorite poems by Langston Huges, "Theme For English B". More specifically I recall my favorite lines:
"Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life."
Yes, simple, but undeniably powerful. I am struck with how relevant these lines, in fact, how relevant the entire poem is to my observations and analysis of the Blacksburg Transit. While I made the connection that everyone thoroughly depends on the bus for transportation relying on it to be on time and at the right place despite weather and traffic conditions, I also begin to see and understand another important connection. Perhaps no where else on campus are students, faculty, and staff pushed so tightly together and forced to well, sit with each other. And after two semesters of riding the bus, I have observed so many different ethnicities, cultures, backgrounds, and personalities. But with that being said, I also have begun to realize through my observations that many of our fears, desires, and goals are the same. I have witnessed every stage of life; from childhood to adulthood. I have witnessed and related with so many of the passengers aboard the bus. Many shivering and cold passengers, a mother scolding her child, a student nervous about a grade, a young man driven by his passion to create art, the first stages of a romance, and a young woman completely in love. Every person aboard the bus is on the same journey, our final destinations are ultimately the same. Perhaps not our physical journeys, but our life journeys. Whether it is going to the grocery store (to eat), going to our apartments (to sleep), going to to the math emporium (to learn), or trying to plan a wedding (to be in love); language, race, gender, and age do not make the slightest difference. Furthermore, these thoughts evoke new ideas and connections about my site.
And as I look down, I begin to study my bracelet my sister made for me. It is simple: three different colored strings braided together, yet it is a valued and deeply loved present. I remember the adorable way she bit her lip in concentration as she carefully twisted the strings together and then tenderly fit the newly made bracelet around my wrist. It is certainly not the most attractive bracelet or the most intricately made, but it was made with such love and affection. And as I stare at the strings, and how they are woven together, I realize, once again, something about the bus system. Our lives are, perhaps unknowingly, forever and irrevocably woven together by our reliance and dependence on the bus. Without knowing it, we are impacted and changed by what and who we see aboard the bus. Once again referring back to Langston Huges,
"Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that's true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me--"
By studying this site, I have realized that we are impacted by what we see everyday. Aboard the bus, our lives do coincide and we are impacted by these experiences and exchanges. Whether we simply overhear a conversation or have a conversation ourselves or simply "people watch", what we see and hear changes are opinions, creates new opinions, and forces us to examine a part of our life.
I set out with the opinion or belief that observing the bus system would be fairly easy. I was certain that I already understood what the bus system was about and its ultimate purpose: to get me around campus and Blacksburg. And while to some extent, the bus is just a bus; just a form of public transportation, I truly did learn something from observing the Blacksburg Transit. It is a necessary and essential part of all our lives; while our dependence unites us, our language, backgrounds, and personalities separate us, but ultimately, our desires, goals, and pursuits bring us together irrevocably and forever. I have thought and thought and well, rethought about the best way to summarize what I have observed and what exactly the culture consists of, and while I don't feel like I can truly express the culture in its entirety. I feel this is perhaps the best possible way.
A nation: a group of people who share a common culture, who want to have their own government, and want to rule themselves. Disregarding, slightly, the concept of government and ruling themselves, I, instead, focus in the concept of a group of people who share a common culture and immediately think of this project and its relevance to analyzing and understanding the bus system. Unlike a nation, we are not similar in our ethnicity, religion, background, or customs, yet we do all share commonalties that create a unique and profound culture of our own. On the surface level, the most defining factor is how much we all rely on the bus. Whether it is to get to our apartment, to get to the store, the math emporium, or even to get across campus, the bus system is a universal aspect of our lives joining us together each day. Furthermore, on a deeper level, or in my opinion, a more important level, the bus system serves a place of limbo, a transit if you will, a never changing yet always available part of our lives that forces us to come together, only if a for only a few minutes, and within those several minutes, different ethnicities, backgrounds, lifestyles, and belief systems come together, and if we take the time to look around so much can be learned and a wealth of knowledge and understanding can be gained from just simply observing our peers and their lives. And while, we do have a different background and belief system, our dreams, ambitions, fears, and desires in life are the same. We were all once misunderstood teenagers, growing or have grown into young adults finding our way through school, romance, peer pressure; good times and bad times; and ultimately, life.
"Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life."
Yes, simple, but undeniably powerful. I am struck with how relevant these lines, in fact, how relevant the entire poem is to my observations and analysis of the Blacksburg Transit. While I made the connection that everyone thoroughly depends on the bus for transportation relying on it to be on time and at the right place despite weather and traffic conditions, I also begin to see and understand another important connection. Perhaps no where else on campus are students, faculty, and staff pushed so tightly together and forced to well, sit with each other. And after two semesters of riding the bus, I have observed so many different ethnicities, cultures, backgrounds, and personalities. But with that being said, I also have begun to realize through my observations that many of our fears, desires, and goals are the same. I have witnessed every stage of life; from childhood to adulthood. I have witnessed and related with so many of the passengers aboard the bus. Many shivering and cold passengers, a mother scolding her child, a student nervous about a grade, a young man driven by his passion to create art, the first stages of a romance, and a young woman completely in love. Every person aboard the bus is on the same journey, our final destinations are ultimately the same. Perhaps not our physical journeys, but our life journeys. Whether it is going to the grocery store (to eat), going to our apartments (to sleep), going to to the math emporium (to learn), or trying to plan a wedding (to be in love); language, race, gender, and age do not make the slightest difference. Furthermore, these thoughts evoke new ideas and connections about my site.
And as I look down, I begin to study my bracelet my sister made for me. It is simple: three different colored strings braided together, yet it is a valued and deeply loved present. I remember the adorable way she bit her lip in concentration as she carefully twisted the strings together and then tenderly fit the newly made bracelet around my wrist. It is certainly not the most attractive bracelet or the most intricately made, but it was made with such love and affection. And as I stare at the strings, and how they are woven together, I realize, once again, something about the bus system. Our lives are, perhaps unknowingly, forever and irrevocably woven together by our reliance and dependence on the bus. Without knowing it, we are impacted and changed by what and who we see aboard the bus. Once again referring back to Langston Huges,
"Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that's true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me--"
By studying this site, I have realized that we are impacted by what we see everyday. Aboard the bus, our lives do coincide and we are impacted by these experiences and exchanges. Whether we simply overhear a conversation or have a conversation ourselves or simply "people watch", what we see and hear changes are opinions, creates new opinions, and forces us to examine a part of our life.
I set out with the opinion or belief that observing the bus system would be fairly easy. I was certain that I already understood what the bus system was about and its ultimate purpose: to get me around campus and Blacksburg. And while to some extent, the bus is just a bus; just a form of public transportation, I truly did learn something from observing the Blacksburg Transit. It is a necessary and essential part of all our lives; while our dependence unites us, our language, backgrounds, and personalities separate us, but ultimately, our desires, goals, and pursuits bring us together irrevocably and forever. I have thought and thought and well, rethought about the best way to summarize what I have observed and what exactly the culture consists of, and while I don't feel like I can truly express the culture in its entirety. I feel this is perhaps the best possible way.
A nation: a group of people who share a common culture, who want to have their own government, and want to rule themselves. Disregarding, slightly, the concept of government and ruling themselves, I, instead, focus in the concept of a group of people who share a common culture and immediately think of this project and its relevance to analyzing and understanding the bus system. Unlike a nation, we are not similar in our ethnicity, religion, background, or customs, yet we do all share commonalties that create a unique and profound culture of our own. On the surface level, the most defining factor is how much we all rely on the bus. Whether it is to get to our apartment, to get to the store, the math emporium, or even to get across campus, the bus system is a universal aspect of our lives joining us together each day. Furthermore, on a deeper level, or in my opinion, a more important level, the bus system serves a place of limbo, a transit if you will, a never changing yet always available part of our lives that forces us to come together, only if a for only a few minutes, and within those several minutes, different ethnicities, backgrounds, lifestyles, and belief systems come together, and if we take the time to look around so much can be learned and a wealth of knowledge and understanding can be gained from just simply observing our peers and their lives. And while, we do have a different background and belief system, our dreams, ambitions, fears, and desires in life are the same. We were all once misunderstood teenagers, growing or have grown into young adults finding our way through school, romance, peer pressure; good times and bad times; and ultimately, life.
