Roosevelt Island

Shutter Island, also known as Roosevelt Island, is a pretty spooky place. I had never been there until just recently because my boyfriend lives there now. Maybe I am being a bit too mean with calling it Shutter Island but it kind of scared me! From the minute I got out of the subway, I knew I was in a very different place. It's so weird because it is so close to Manhattan but a completely different world. There are few people living on the island, so it's way less cluttered which is really nice. It's just a little too dead for my taste. I had to wake up early in the morning the next day to leave and come back to the city for work and it was a crazy experience. I was up at about 5 in the morning and I did not see one single person on the way to the subway. NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON! It was the weirdest feeling. Writing about the subway also reminded me of just how awful it is to actually get to or from Roosevelt . The only way to get there by subway is on the F train. The F train is literally located in hell. You go down three very long flights of escalators down to the subway. It is scorching hot and everyone is being cooked alive. Another way to get to Roosevelt Island is with the tram on 59th St. Too bad the tram has been down since early this year because it is being repaired. It was supposed to be complete by August but it is now September. The saddest part about this whole tram situation is that the actual tram machines are in a building right next to my boyfriends dorm and they have not yet been touched. The tram really makes it a whole lot easier to get to and from the island but it is currently down and will be down for a while..

Now, as you have been reading this, you have probably come to the conclusion that I am a very negative person and just mean but I'm really not. I just wouldn't be able to live on that island for more than a week. It's quiet a lot of work and it would be a huge tease! You can see a view of the city that is to die for but just reminds you that you aren't in the city! It did make me sit and really have a moment of awe for the city. I realized just how much I love the city I live in and how I get antsy or anxious just from being a way from it for even a few hours. But like I said they are VERY different places. There is no store or any kind of place that is open past 12 on Roosevelt Island. There is one chinese takeout and it's pretty good but once again, there is only ONE.

I really respect people who do live on Roosevelt Island for all the trouble they have to go through each day. Like, my boyfriend for instance, his life is in this city but his bed is on Roosevelt. It sucks. There is no better or more proper way of putting that. It just sucks. He has to go through about an hour and a half to two hours of traveling every single day.

So, I will end with a message(warning) to the freshmen in this writing class who have the option of living on Roosevelt next year, DONT DO IT. Yes, the living spaces are incredible but that is the ONLY upside.

I'm happy in the city and would not want to live anywhere else, even if it is nearby. Nothing can compare to this place.

-Michelle Rinehart