Blog post 8 - Humans of NY

I read a story about a street performer in Central Park. He is a pianist who has been playing in the park almost every weekend for the past 15 years. He begins his story reflecting back on his anxiety that he faced as a childhood, beginning all the way from birth. This anxiety that he faced made it difficult for him to figure out how to navigate the world. The mental health struggles that he faced early on made him a very cynical and apathetic child. He says:

 “Even as a child, I could tell that the world sucked. Life didn’t seem to be about enjoying beautiful things, or feeling amazing emotions. It was: ‘Play this game.’ ‘Now have dinner.’ ‘Now work on this.’ And things didn’t seem much better for adults. It made me anxious.”

Music was the thing that helped him cope and escape from the outside world. He gives a vivid image of him as a kid hiding behind the couch with a boombox. This was the place where he felt the most safe and realized that music was his calling. He says he gets the same sense of peace and comfort when he performs in the park. What I love the most about this guy's story is his passion for music and how it can be a powerful tool for human connection. What he loves about street performance is the organic feel of it. He says street performance is the purest form of connection because:

“There’s no velvet rope, or assigned seating, or two drinks minimum. You just hear something you like, and you walk over there. And if you like it enough, maybe you’ll stick around for a song.”

What I love about his story is that it started with him talking about his struggles with feeling so alone and hopeless as a child, yet he found a way to spread beauty and connection to the world. It's as if he found a way to bring the hope and comfort that he was searching for as a child and share it in the most accessible and communal way. The pictures included show this communal aspect of his performance, as well as him setting up his piano and some childhood photos. There are a couple pictures showing the huge crowd that he sometimes acquires. My favorite picture out of all them is the one where there are two people sitting underneath the piano as he plays. Something about the picture is so playful, giddy, and carefree–I believe it really captures the environment and experiences that he strives to create for his audience.