FAQ: Rhodes or New York?

Faidra M. Piliou      
Mon, Dec 7 2015    
EN-121
Compare-Contrast Essay

     There are several ways that people can feel their lives drastically changing, and one of them is by moving to another country, a big town for example. Having vacations and actually experiencing the life of a citizen are two very different things. There’s a certain spectrum of emotions anyone can go through, from missing home to finally feeling free, to going out, party and explore with the independence they just earned, to crying while eating whatever there is to eat and watching pictures of their hometown.  Moving from a small Island in Greece to New York City, I can say with confidence I’ve been through everything that was just mentioned, and it was hard. There was a lot of crying and drama, sometimes there still is. But at the end, I learned things, I’ve noticed things. Things I wouldn’t have experienced if someone erased this part of my life. Things I’m glad to know.

  Manhattan as a place is very different than people who have never been here believe it is. As beautiful as it can be, or as different as a small town can be, it still is a place with dirt and gums stuck on the streets that can easily destroy someone’s Louboutins. And let’s not even start on the subway situation. But this city has everything. You name it. There’s nothing you’re looking for, that this city does not have. It’s not only pretty, fashionable women leaving their successful lives in Upper East Side. But we can’t say that it’s not that either. There are so many cultures mixed in this one place, so many neighborhoods and streets to explore. This city might not be made of gold, but walking down the streets, looking at the horizon before a car hits you? It feels special.

 In contrast, Rhodes, my hometown, is a very small place. By living there, people miss the feeling of exploration. It’s a healthy environment, but there’s not a place its citizens have not visited. We’ve all been everywhere; we know every street, and every mountain, every beach there is to know. It’s a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.
   That’s probably a lie because I grew there, but as far as the place itself, it has been the same for a long time now.

   Education in New York, or generally in America is very different than the way I knew it before moving here. The schools are bigger, students have the opportunity to start doing things they love from high school and they also have the chance to start working on what they love from an early age. There are a lot of museums and people have the chance of meeting or seeing the work of someone who inspires them up close, which is such an important thing in order to really realize what you want to do in your future! Education has never felt so good but at the same time it has never felt so expensive either. Learning can actually be something that people enjoy, if they have the money to pay for it.  The biggest disadvantage of America’s education is that people have to pay for everything, even state universities.

  Other than that, the most important thing about New York, for me, is that they respect the artists. A place that respects art the same way it respects history, law or science, is a city that grows more day by day in my opinion.

    Make no mistake, Greece has amazing schools too. The Universities are really good and education is free, something I find very important. It’s such an advantage to be able to study without having to graduate with the weight of the loan your government’s provided for you on your shoulders. 

    A downside of Greek Universities is that art is not a priority. Growing up, kids have the same schedule until they graduate. Everyone has to be good at math, or science or ancient Greek. Everyone has to know everything, except from having some basic art education. It’s funny how a country can be dying economically when we have so many people who study economy, law and business management, but it does. Maybe because all of its artists have been brainwashed to study something “important”, that “makes money”.  Whatever anyone’s reasons are, I do believe arts have to be recognized as something important everywhere.

  Last but not least, one of my biggest and most important things that I realized during my stay here, is the difference these two places have as far as community goes.  The life pace is so different in the city. People usually have a schedule for their whole lives here. They know what time they wake up, what time they take the train, what time they have their lunch break. When they finish work when they go home, when they sleep. When weekend comes? Weekend is party time. That’s pretty much life in New York. The way I see it, family is not an important thing. Even if people have it, they just have it. It’s there. Mother’s hire nannies, kids grow up eating food  that has not been made for a healthy lifestyle, parents make enough money to send their kids to a good school and then the circle goes on and on and nothing really changes. Talking about the robot life drinking Starbucks and eating McDonalds? Maybe.
The majority at least.

  In Greece people take family very seriously. Mothers wake up before work to cook food for everyone; Kids go to school even by walking in some cases because it’s so close. Parents go to work for eight or twelve hours a day and we usually don’t have a lunch break, or a Weekend break. Holiday break? No, not that either. People generally might not have the money for a luxurious lifestyle, but the way they love and care about each other, the way the whole family comes together on holidays, and the way they grow, I believe it makes a big difference. Greece might not have a lot of opportunities for someone who is young and thirsty for their future, but as far as community goes, at the end of the day your neighbor will knock on your door and invite you to eat food at their table if you don’t have some on your own.

   At the end, what I truly believe is that as a person, someone has to put their priorities straight in order to understand where would be the right place to live. Every place is different and every city or island has its own advantages and disadvantages. Personally I feel so lucky for being able to grow up in such a beautiful place. And I’m fortunate to be able to travel and learn things. Wherever we go, the most important thing is to carry ourselves with us, to never forget where we come from. Never forget how important it is to pick ourselves up and make every moment worth our time.