i love riding the lightrail. i can use the time to do some reading for class or lose myself in the passing scenery. downer: i have consistently forgotten my ipod so i can't tune out the chatter of other riders. luckily, it isnt always the worst thing. i enjoy listening to other people's conversations. not in that creepy whats going on in a strangers life way, but rather listening to how people converse. tone of voice, rate of speech, word choice. they all fascinate me. in undergrad, i found a new interest in communication and linguistics, but opted not to pursue it very far. i realized, after a few mistaken choices, that my interest in communication relates back to my interest in psychology. how we convey our thoughts and emotions reflects on how we understand those thoughts and emotions. the careful choosing of words versus the incoherent ramble that begs the question "do you actually listen to yourself when you wordvomit?". are you lady gaga or kanye west? our communication styles reflect how we view and interact with the outside world (beyond pure conversation). these are the topics that fascinate me and keep me interested in psychology
riding the lightrail, for me, is more than a convenient mode of transportation. it's also a constant reminder of why i love my chosen field and why i chose to attend grad school. it's easy to lose sight of the goal when you're buried under 3 weeks worth of reading, an exam and a paper that you may or may not have forgotten about. you have to find an anchor in everything that you do. the lightrail has become my anchor
what's yours?
[cross-posted at University of Baltimore Blog]
February 22, 2010
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2 comments:
You know...my anchor is flying. I know that sounds crazy but because I travel so much for work, I sometimes find that in the air is where I feel "free." When I fly during the day, I open the window, pop in my ear buds, turn up my music and watch the clouds go by. When I fly at night, I do the same thing, but watch the city lights become smaller and smaller. There's just something relaxing, something freeing about being up in the air.
I can understand how you could love the lightrail. I lived in England for 8 months in 2008 & rode the train throughout the country on the weekend, the scenery was BEAUTIFUL & it was by far the most scenic and relaxing ride ever!
Hmm. One of my anchors is my sweetheart. The other is music. Both keep me grounded and offer me the ability to escape the humdrum into a place filled with imagination, creativity, fun, life, love and so on.
Whenever I'm on the trains, I people watch too. People are interesting. In New York, Boston, Atlanta and Amsterdam I did plenty people watching. Especially those with the earplugs in trying to escape the train surroundings yet still trying to be aware of what was going on. I used to feel like telling them to pick on - zone out to the music in the earphones or tune in to the beat of the train. Lol.
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