The word “nice” isn’t the first word that comes to mind when thinking of the typical New Yorker… actually that’s pretty much the opposite of what comes to mind (asshole??).
In a city where everyone is rushing from one place to another, common courtesy is forgone and replaced with a shoulder check, or oh, I don’t know, someone ripping your takeout out of your hands because they think you took there’s (they were totally wrong, btw). So the question that comes from this is how do you keep your sunshiny (lol not quite) personality in a city that smothers it with dirty looks and profanities?
From my experience living here so far (reached the 6th month mark, YAAY) , I have felt myself slowly get a little harsher and maybe a little more rude… not that I’m proud of it, you just get used to not apologizing when you accidently bump into someone, or scream into your phone to your dad about the jerk who took up the whole sidewalk with their suitcase while the person was still in ear shot.
I like to think I have never really been a confrontational person, let alone rude, and I’m not trying to start now at 20 years old. So I have devised a few tips that will (hopefully) help anyone else struggling with this Rude-New-Yorker-Syndrome.
1. Take a page from Seinfeld and “Serenity Now” yourself.
2. Look for the nearest baby and smile at it (it works).
3. Compliment a stranger and if they actually acknowledge you, it will feel pretty good.
4. Make a weird face/ noise at the cat callers instead of feeling personally violated.
5. If someone is standing waaaay to close to you on the subway unnecessarily, start coughing obnoxiously and they will (probably) move over.
6. Make friends with someone who has a dog/ meet a guy who has a dog (even if he’s not cute, his dog is), this will make your day 10x better after someone knocks your latte out of your hands (and doesn’t even say sorry).
7. Make a kick-ass playlist and blast it to block out the crazies screaming about their religion.
8. If all else fails, remember this quote; “A bad day in New York is a good day anywhere else”.
Peace, love, & Smashing Pumpkins
In a city where everyone is rushing from one place to another, common courtesy is forgone and replaced with a shoulder check, or oh, I don’t know, someone ripping your takeout out of your hands because they think you took there’s (they were totally wrong, btw). So the question that comes from this is how do you keep your sunshiny (lol not quite) personality in a city that smothers it with dirty looks and profanities?
From my experience living here so far (reached the 6th month mark, YAAY) , I have felt myself slowly get a little harsher and maybe a little more rude… not that I’m proud of it, you just get used to not apologizing when you accidently bump into someone, or scream into your phone to your dad about the jerk who took up the whole sidewalk with their suitcase while the person was still in ear shot.
I like to think I have never really been a confrontational person, let alone rude, and I’m not trying to start now at 20 years old. So I have devised a few tips that will (hopefully) help anyone else struggling with this Rude-New-Yorker-Syndrome.
1. Take a page from Seinfeld and “Serenity Now” yourself.
2. Look for the nearest baby and smile at it (it works).
3. Compliment a stranger and if they actually acknowledge you, it will feel pretty good.
4. Make a weird face/ noise at the cat callers instead of feeling personally violated.
5. If someone is standing waaaay to close to you on the subway unnecessarily, start coughing obnoxiously and they will (probably) move over.
6. Make friends with someone who has a dog/ meet a guy who has a dog (even if he’s not cute, his dog is), this will make your day 10x better after someone knocks your latte out of your hands (and doesn’t even say sorry).
7. Make a kick-ass playlist and blast it to block out the crazies screaming about their religion.
8. If all else fails, remember this quote; “A bad day in New York is a good day anywhere else”.
Peace, love, & Smashing Pumpkins
- KT