Bittersweet subway commute

 

 

Commuting to my job as a teacher's assistant in a 4th grade English classroom. I got a seat, and the man across from me in the subway car looked at me directly. His face looked threatening. Such is life in the City. Of course, I didn't engage in eye contact. Later I saw that I had misjudged: his face was a face of pain. He cried out asking if anyone could help him with some money. When I hand over cash on the subway, I prefer to do it when I or the person is leaving. The woman to my right was leaving and gave him a dollar, so I leaned over and gave him a bit, too. I saw his face was full of pain. He soon got off. I pulled a textbook (for one of my courses) out of my bag, titled The Social Studies Teacher's Toolbox. The woman to my left said, "Oh, you're a social studies teacher? I thought you look like a Science Teacher." The “teacher look” comes from wearing a tie, and I was the only tie-wearer in the train car. I laughed and told her I'm in school to be a teacher, a special ed teacher, a subject generalist so that I'll be OK at all of the subjects. She told me she's getting her GED, and I said that's fantastic. I asked her what she was planning, and she said she hopes to go to City Tech, one of the CUNY colleges. Ultimately, she wants to be a drug addiction counselor! I told her I'm at Hunter College, also one of the CUNY colleges. She said she's open to changes in plans, such as going to BMCC, yet another one college of CUNY. Following unexpected twists and turns with an open mind has certainly been my story.