London Through the Eye, the Bus, and the Streets

Perspective is an interesting idea. We each have our own unique perspectives, but our perspectives also depend on the context of our surroundings. As I brought up in class, an example of this can be our perception of ourselves. If we look in the mirror for example and believe our outfit is great and coordinated and comfortable then that is that. Then we could go outside, walk the streets of London, observe what others are wearing, and suddenly feel severely underdressed, or sloppily dressed. The first opinion is our perception of ourselves alone in our room, but after we observe others and our surroundings, we perceive ourselves differently when comparisons to others start being made.

Leah in NW does this. She compares herself to Natalie and sees her own insecurities in the form of Natalie's fictitious judgement, and this is different than how she perceives things when she is alone.

Part of our necessity to compare ourselves to others could be our culture--the media is constantly encouraging you to judge and compare yourself as a method of manipulation. It could also be an instinct for us as we are social creatures.

Perspective changes based on the context. London as a city itself is another example. Seeing London from the Eye, I saw the change in the angles of buildings as we rose. Suddenly, I could see more of the roofs than the walls of buildings. I also saw the city spread out--and how large it is. This really impressed me. There was a focus on a lot of buildings that looked important or historical but I could not place because I don't know what the important buildings in London are other than the Eye and Big Ben. Seeing London from the tour bus I saw more of the history of things. We were guided in our perception by our tour guide and I noticed a lot of architecture, and took pictures of buildings that had nothing to do with the tour because the architecture was pretty. Walking around on the streets of London, I see more impressions rather than actual things because I am distracted by focusing on walking, keeping up with our group, wondering when we'll get where we are going, and all the different, smaller sights. I see the sidewalks as not swaths of concrete, but blocks of stone put together. I notice the people passing by, and I'm more self-aware of how I must look to them in style of dress and manner of walking and talking.

I think the tour bus was my favorite way to see London. I appreciate experiencing it for myself on the street and it's important, but I feel like the tour bus is a mix of history and seeing the big picture you get from the eye, but you are close enough to the ground to pick up on littler things like detailed architecture without having to worry about where you are going, because you are sitting on a bus.