Humans of New York: Colin the NYC Pianist

What stood out to me the most about this post from Humans of New York was the portrait-ee was the bit about taking misery from a persons life by playing the piano. It reminds me of a post I saw on some other social media site, a while ago now. It said something to the effect of:

Remember that when the world was ending, and society was collapsing around us, we all turned to the arts. Music, TV, Books. We were all alone save for those artistic outlets. They’re what kept us going in the beginning of the pandemic, when no one knew what tomorrow would bring.

We all were there, we all lived to experience what went from a two week stint at home to a two year long slog through political torment, mass cultural trauma, and yet another economic crisis all while expected to function as normal. So, yes. I, like many others turned to the music. What brought me to this line of thinking was the last line: “Five years ago I was in this park, and I’d finally decided to end my life. I was about to head for the bridge—and you started playing Chopin. I’ve never forgotten that.’”. That is the line that hooked me, despite being the last few words.

I sympathized with Colin, the man featured in the post, as he described his life up to the point where he was getting his picture taken by HONY. I really felt how he struggled with anxiety, how everything was just so overwhelming all the time, that the only time he felt truly at peace and in control of his emotions was when he was listening to music. Music, like many other forms of art, is something that is deeply engrained into our culture, something we likely experience every day, if not multiple times a day. To have someone decide to stay alive because of the music you’ve created is a feeling I don’t think I can describe.

Overall, the post was very well done and featured pictures from Colin’s youth, his teenage years, and into adulthood. We see him transporting his piano, setting it up, and sitting down to play. In the first image, he leans against it, finally comfortable in a way he once could not be, all so he can connect with those around him.