I have a theory about Berlin and I'm quite certain that it's not a new one or my own. I refuse to look up what other writers have said about this because right now, I want to honor what I'm experiencing rather than dismiss it because someone else has said it once before.
I believe Berlin might very well be a city of misfits.
I mean this in the most serious and sincere kind of way. I hear the word misfit and immediately am transported to watching a 1960s animation of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. That's not exactly what I mean by misfit, although it's not entirely inaccurate, either.
I can only experience Berlin for what I see of it today. I know it has changed a lot in the last twenty years since the wall fell. It has become a hub of people that do not necessarily belong somewhere else or have chosen for one reason or another to call Berlin home. They are all attracted to this city for it's promise of taking in people and accepting them for what and who they are. Granted, this is romanticized and not entirely true. I am not naive to the real social construct and how racism and classism impact such a city, but by and far, in a simply navigating the city with social eyes view, this city is composed of people who may not look like they belong together at first glance, yet work and interact and experience life together with ease.
There is a slow hum of desperate intellectualism here. People who live here are passionate. They are people who need to learn and grow in order to truly be alive. Young, old, it seems to be a common thread that unites Berlin's people. There is a need for music, art, and history in their every day.
It is a somewhat serious city. There is not a jovial laugh around each corner. There are not people smiling and laughing on benches in the parks. At first glance, this can appear alarming to the lighthearted. We need joy in our lives, too. This could perhaps be seen as a negative. It's easy to notice the lack of this and judge its people on their demeanor.
I don't think it's a lack of joy, however. I believe that their joy is channeled differently. Through literature and the seeking of knowledge and in believing their family is safe and secure here.
In a city of three and a half million people, a half million people are immigrants. I have found this fact fascinating since the first time I heard it. It truly feels this way as well. There is never a single language, or look, or food on each street. This doesn't mean that everyone lives together and interacts harmoniously. However, we are all moving through the day together in a city that seems to function quite well on the unification of differences.
I love the different stories I see unfolding in front of me on each train ride, on each walk down the street to the corner bakery. There is never a single story. We have all come here for one reason or another and the city has enchanted us with promises of acceptance, whether we choose to believe or whether or not the stories are true are yet to unfold perhaps.
I believe Berlin might very well be a city of misfits.
I mean this in the most serious and sincere kind of way. I hear the word misfit and immediately am transported to watching a 1960s animation of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. That's not exactly what I mean by misfit, although it's not entirely inaccurate, either.
I can only experience Berlin for what I see of it today. I know it has changed a lot in the last twenty years since the wall fell. It has become a hub of people that do not necessarily belong somewhere else or have chosen for one reason or another to call Berlin home. They are all attracted to this city for it's promise of taking in people and accepting them for what and who they are. Granted, this is romanticized and not entirely true. I am not naive to the real social construct and how racism and classism impact such a city, but by and far, in a simply navigating the city with social eyes view, this city is composed of people who may not look like they belong together at first glance, yet work and interact and experience life together with ease.
There is a slow hum of desperate intellectualism here. People who live here are passionate. They are people who need to learn and grow in order to truly be alive. Young, old, it seems to be a common thread that unites Berlin's people. There is a need for music, art, and history in their every day.
It is a somewhat serious city. There is not a jovial laugh around each corner. There are not people smiling and laughing on benches in the parks. At first glance, this can appear alarming to the lighthearted. We need joy in our lives, too. This could perhaps be seen as a negative. It's easy to notice the lack of this and judge its people on their demeanor.
I don't think it's a lack of joy, however. I believe that their joy is channeled differently. Through literature and the seeking of knowledge and in believing their family is safe and secure here.
In a city of three and a half million people, a half million people are immigrants. I have found this fact fascinating since the first time I heard it. It truly feels this way as well. There is never a single language, or look, or food on each street. This doesn't mean that everyone lives together and interacts harmoniously. However, we are all moving through the day together in a city that seems to function quite well on the unification of differences.
I love the different stories I see unfolding in front of me on each train ride, on each walk down the street to the corner bakery. There is never a single story. We have all come here for one reason or another and the city has enchanted us with promises of acceptance, whether we choose to believe or whether or not the stories are true are yet to unfold perhaps.
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