Everyday Victims of Everyday Life

“Victims of everyday life.” I think that is such an interesting concept. We all have to go through it - the mundane tasks of everyday life (unless you’re some fancy travel blogger or wealthy person who hires people to do all those mundane tasks…). But, for those of us who do have to step foot in a grocery store, a pharmacy, a laundromat, or a big-box store, these experiences shape our society and our city. When Margaret specifically called out teenagers as being victims of everyday life, I couldn’t help but think of some of the kids I knew growing up. I was always kept excessively busy with extra-curriculars and afterschool sports, but those that had nothing but free time after 3:00 PM had nowhere to go. There was no space other than school and home. So what happened was,  they created their own space and began to hang out behind the local K-Mart (which is now closed and emptied out,  but they still keep the lights on so no one vandalizes or occupies the dead space.)

Understanding the way different people experience the city is something that I believe we’re starting to get a little better at, at least in the bubble of academia and conceptual design, but there is still a lot of room to improve on. Different modes of transportation (walking, biking, taking a bus or metro, driving) give people different perspectives of the city. Even though it’s a single city, sometimes it can feel disconnected or like a different city. I studied in Barcelona during undergrad and a professor we had would always push that taking the metro (underground) or planes isn’t “traveling,” but rather just “transporting.” After that I began to walk home from class and wonder – turning a 10-minute metro trip into a half-hour walk. I got to see the city from a whole new and much better perspective, and maybe it’s cheesy, but I felt happier. I didn’t mind doing the everyday-tasks as much, and I actually started to enjoy them, whereas here I have to leave my apartment that looks like every other apartment,  get in my car, drive to the Walmart that looks like every other Walmart, then back to my car and back to my ordinary apartment. I don’t know. Suburban life isn’t for me at the moment.