Sidewalks

Locations

35613
United States

           Ouch. Ouch. OUCH! Another pair of feet walk on me, a four-by-four square of concrete, asphalt, and sand. Small feet, heavy feet, feet squeezed into a infinitesimal shoes walk in the heart of the city that never sleeps. I am a sidewalk, a sidewalk that’s ready for change. A sidewalk that no longer wishes to be stepped upon.  A sidewalk that’s prepared to become a large and imposing building.

           Day after day I spend lying here on the corner of 7th Avenue and 44th Street in the great city of New York. Travelers come from all around the globe to see those bright lights at night, to stand on the acclaimed red stairs, or to go on the Ferris Wheel in the Toys ‘R’ Us. To a rookie, Times Square can be the most magical place on Manhattan Island, but to me, it’s just my life.  I often wonder what it would be like to stand tall and observe the whole island. Millions of people travel to New York see large edifices like the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building; I’ve never heard someone say that they’ve come all the way from ‘Down Under’ to see this simple square of concrete.

           It’s much easier to say that I want to be a building than actually doing something about it. Accomplishing a goal involves work, and who wants to be a lackadaisical square of cement that anyone would have the opportunity to step on. Where is being lazy going to take me in life? To the corner of 7th Avenue and 44th Street, that’s where. I am tired of this corner; I am bored of the same sights that Times Square has to offer. I desire to be on the southeast corner of Wall Street and Broad Street in the heart of the Financial District. But I don’t want to be a sidewalk when I get there, I want to be a building. Not just any building, I want to be THE building that any financial savvy person knows about: The House of Morgan. The only way to achieve this is through hard work and dedication.

           I am a high school student. I have been “stepped on” and “walked over” for years— by teachers, by “friends” and by people who have doubted my abilities and I ready to stand tall. It’s my turn to grow up, to invest in myself. I am worth more than an amalgam of ingredients. Through hours of hard work, devoting my time, and putting in one hundred and ten percent of my effort I will become a building. Actually, I will become a skyscraper, and I will stand higher than any building, not only in New York City but throughout the world. And the first step to becoming this skyscraper is going to college.

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