It wasn't until recently when I realized that every place has its own message. I am pretty sure I have always felt it, but it wasn't until recently I started to acknowledge the conveying. What do I mean by a message when I say every place has its own message? See, for example, New York sends you a message that says "You have to be successful. You see all the tall buildings and businessmen? That is how people are in New York.". And Paris let's say, tell you something else. It might say, "Have a little coffee outside enjoying the sunshine. Be beautiful and sometimes romantic in the most romantic city in the world.". And Boston tells a high school student, "Kid, you ought to be smart if you want to keep living in this city. Everyone is intelligent you see?". Likewise, whether it's a city, a town, a neighborhood that you're in, they all have their own message.
Then why is it that we tend to sense these incoming messages? Cities can't talk either is somebody trying to tell you something. It is because wherever we go, we are constantly effected by the surroundings and the surrounding people who are forming the majority of the population.
Which buildings do you see? Do you see many skyscrapers straight and high, that they show the overwhelming power of corporates or do you mostly see many restaurants and cafes where people are just enjoying the weather and the chat they are having? We are unwittingly influenced by our surroundings whether we like it or not. This is why people feel more cozy and comfortable in Paris whereas they tend to find the sense of rigidity and formality.
And the surrounding people matter. We tend to ache when we find ourselves surrounded by people different from us and feel comfortable and friendly in the opposite situation. We sometimes tend to act and be similar to the majority, and whatever pursuits and thoughts the majority has, Those become the identity of the people and the city. Thus the influence from the surrounding people does matter. Who are the people that form the majority of the population? Are they painters and musicians or are they highly-educated intellectuals like students and professors? If you walk around Boston, you will see so the college schools with the most power. Harvard, Yale, Brown, and countless students and a wide variety of intellectuals. And you realize, Boston is the central place of the world for education and ideas which is the main fraction of image the city embodies.
People say when you are traveling you should try to experience the real lifestyle of the people instead of only visiting tourist attractions everytime like everybody else. I think the same rule applies here. Any city, or place, and people within them carry their own message that comes from the identity and the distinctive characteristic they hold. So what does your city say and what kind of person does it tell you to become?
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