My name is Noah, and I am in 11th grade. I have been taking Los Angeles public transit, an intricate system of buses and trains within the Greater LA area, to and from high school now for two years, and I have had a lot of unique experiences. Before I continue, let’s be clear. The metro isn’t the most pleasant experience. Every bus and train reeks of urine and weed, and homeless people are everywhere. The seats and walls have stains that you probably would feel better about if you didn't know where they came from. Depending on which bus you take, the wait times can be painfully long and busses constantly break down. But you know what, I don’t dislike taking the metro. I have had so many experiences that have changed me as a person and made me more cultured. I have met a ton of cool people and had a ton of cool conversations. Additionally, being a teenager, I can’t drive, and my parents are reluctant to shuttle me around. The metro lets me visit friends in various parts of LA and go on weekend adventures. So the metro is in some sense a double edged sword, it opens a lot of doors but you have to be willing to be patient and tolerant. 

One day I was walking home from school. It is about a mile long walk to the metro station, and of course, it was raining, which always makes the trip way more painful. In addition to the usual stench, now everything was sopping wet. About two thirds of the way through my trip, the train grinded to a halt. This indicated that there was either an issue with a train in front of us or that there was an issue at the station itself. So even before I got off, I knew something was up.

While walking up the long flights of stairs, I could see red lights flashing in the glossy tiles that lined the walls. Once I reached the street level, I saw a sea of police cars, ambulances, and firetrucks. I was honestly just wondering what scene would call for such a multitude of emergency vehicles. Of course the entire street was shut down for three blocks, so the odds of me being able to catch a bus were next to nothing. I was trying to find the source of all of the commotion, and I noticed a cluster of firetrucks just down the street. I could barely make out a man standing at the edge of a tall building just adjacent to the metro station. A bunch of firemen were around him in cranes, and a large inflatable landing pad was on the ground. The sides of the street were lined with people, many of which had their phones out recording everything. For about an hour, I waited in a panic on the sidewalk with everyone else, trying to find a way home and also watching the man atop the building. From within the crowd I could hear people yelling “Don’t jump”.

After about an hour and a half of waiting and stressing, my mom was finally able to pick me up. Just as I was leaving I saw the man finally coming down off of the roof and coming into safe hands. And after all of it, I was soaking wet and it had taken me three and a half hours to get home, but I wasn’t frustrated or tired. Maybe that’s just how I am.