Many of us can recall an unlucky afternoon in the drenching rain where we have tapped our feet against the bus shelter, impatiently wondering if the bus would ever arrive. Minutes trickled by as our fixated eyes shifted towards the distant blur of cars speeding by, frustrated why none of them happened to be the vehicle we had been waiting for. Suddenly, that particular instant of tedious wait became the perfect scapegoat for the entire day’s frustrations. After all, a lagging bus was the last thing anyone needed to interrupt our endless lists of “places to be, deadlines to meet, tasks to complete.” When considering the extensive amount of irksome hours commuters tend to spend travelling every day, public transport almost becomes the master thief of time, slowly draining away the minutes and hours of our lives into a hidden vortex. However, just by opening my eyes to capture the surroundings a few angles over, I begin to perceive vibrant signs of life vividly containing the essence of human emotion and interaction. Every once in a while, I need to step on a bus and replenish myself with a reminder of the human experience that livens the spirit of the world we coexist in. The heart-warming marvels never disappoint me, whether it is the blissful smile on a father’s face, as he delicately strokes his sleeping little angel’s flowing locks or a strained woman’s honorable efforts to give up her seat for a senior citizen despite waiting another hour with an armful of groceries and a toddler. On a darker note, I frequency catch the small, but ill displays of human nature, particularly those individuals who mindlessly litter their garbage out the bus window the trice their darting eyes satisfy a false sense of assurance that no one has “seen them.” Of course, the nonchalant drunken man who thought the back seats of a crowded bus were his personal sofa does not add a strong vote of confidence for humanity’s existence. However, where would the element of reality fall in place if only the shinier side of the coin is viewed? Each time I ride the bus, I feel a step closer to viewing this entire coin, although I know it might take a whole lifetime to truly understand its fine print. Although it would be ideal to personally behold the utmost multitude of experiences, each of our journeys can last only so long. Hence, I never view a bus trip as only a means of transportation to reach a desired destination. Instead, I try to drink in the journey itself by seizing as many snapshots of life with my eyes as the camera and my mind as the interpreter. The melody of each laughter, giggle, bawl, chuckle, cry, and whisper still ring in my ears, locked safely in a memory vault I hope to fill one day. What better place is there to experience life than plunging into this stage of its premiere? Are people not constantly juggling multiple roles between an array of undefined stages? The bus not only gives me a chance to encounter and interact with daily individuals from all walks of life, but opens windows to an honest and authentic portrayal of human behaviour and relationships at their most natural states. The bus keeps looping around the city while life goes on, few commuters seem to be actively in appreciation on the surface for the tubing rides which though lead them to their next major stop in a typical working or leisure day. They rarely realize that they are virtually employed into a special workplace with all the “same” colleagues of hundreds of different looks, age, races and specialties, while accomplishing the same task of journey. Here silence or quietness is their language of courtesy, orders and forgiveness are basic corporate rules, and dress codes, seldom in a fashion show, are simply a world-class level of invention. This is actually an environment where endlessly new patterns can be studied to appreciate for. There is no comparable place elsewhere all of us can perform to achieve the same job goal in such a harmony. Who said this is not fun?
So, who's the writer of this essay? Or was this written for homework? An what is this about, care to explain it for all?
