How much is rent this month? Am I going to need my puffer coat today? Where should I grab a bagel from? Getting out of bed in the morning is typically accompanied by thoughts like these–– which can explain a lot about what is important to someone.
I set out to see what the first thing that young people at Washington Square Park are thinking about when they wake up in the morning.
What is the first thing that you think about when you wake up in the morning?
Jamari Sinclair, Student at Brooklyn College
“Right now I’m in school, so I would probably say like my class schedule, what class I have for today. Also, I would say when I’m going to eat–– it’s probably right now.”
Joe Turtel, Works at Microsoft
“I want to go back to sleep. It depends if it’s a weekend or a weekday. If it’s a weekday, I think about a problem that I’m solving at work. And if it’s a weekend, I think about getting a really good brunch with good friends.”
Julia Evans, Consultant
“It depends if it’s a weekday or weekend. This morning was kind of like, what am I going to do with my day? And then what am I going to eat for breakfast? And during the week, I don’t know, work? Where I want to go, who I want to spend my time with. A lot of work on weekdays.”
Montserrat Santivañez, Journalist
“I’ve discovered recently that the first thing I think about when I wake up and probably the last thing I think about when I go to sleep is my boyfriend. I hate myself for it, and I hope he doesn’t ever know. But it’s always in the back of my mind. And everything that happens to me in the day somehow reminds me of him. Like, Oh, I really want to talk to him about this, or Oh, he would have laughed so hard. I always think about him, so I guess love would be–– I will try to say that the answer is love.”
Lance Prince, Cancer Research Scientist
“I don’t know, taxes? Honestly, I’m just grateful that I woke up. And just grateful to go to work – see coworkers and talk to friends–– I’m grateful for that.”
Anna Faust, Student at Fordham University
“I think about how much walking I have to do that day. And maybe the shoes that I’ll wear to walk in. Maybe like what I’m eating that day, where I’m going to get some food.”
