Do you sometimes feel alone, when you are in a very crowded place? I did, when I was in New York. I had not been in that city before, but I had heard so much about it. I knew that there were very huge buildings and a lot of cars. And a lot of people, of course. Because I live in a very crowded city, I am used to places where you can see so much people around. I like being in places where it is alive, like, I love sitting on a bench and watching people pass by. So I was excited to see this huge city - the capital of the world.

I really was.


My thoughts about the city shaped as I got off the bus and walked through the streets. The city was crowded with people and I had difficulty walking on the street, but I didn’t really feel like I was in a place with a lot of people. Everybody in the city was physically there, but mentally somewhere else. I could hear their footsteps and could see their walking bodies, but it was impossible look into their eyes. Everybody was staring at the ground, as they were walking down the street. They were hiding their eyes from each other and trying hard not to catch each other’s eye. Most of the people were talking on their cell phones, or listening to music with their headphones, covered on their ears. The only thing people cared about was THEMSELVES; their own lives and their outer appearance… their ego. Nobody cared about the others, but they cared about what others were thinking about themselves…

This was how New York City appeared to me, as I got off the bus and walked through the city.

And that was the time when I felt alone in a very crowded place. At that moment I felt like calling home, my mom. But then I changed my mind. I didn’t have much time and I was planning to buy a guitar. I was going to buy that guitar and get the hell out of this place. New York wasn’t the place that I was looking for. I like people and I like being in places where there are a lot of people. But I like it only if the people are totally there.

Both physically and mentally.