One of the things that always surprises me when I watch TV shows or movies about New York City is the depiction that everything is a hop, skip and jump away from one another. Manhattan is 22 miles long, and so packed with neighborhoods that when you travel across it, it doesn’t feel like you’re in the same city. Midtown is loud and busy, seething with tourists and people selling things, slicked in the nauseously sweet smell of the Nuts-4-Nuts carts. But Downtown is eerily quiet, as if the marble buildings of wall street and steps of city hall demand a silence from natives and visitors alike.

In Manhattan, no one wants to travel by car. The roads are too busy and, unless you’re unfathomably rich, Taxi’s and Uber’s are far too expensive for everyday use. So, many of us have become accustomed to the underground commute. Despite the squealing train-tracks and seats that smell like pee, there’s something oddly comforting about the rumble of the subway. Your commute gives you time to think and observe, and get your mind and body settled for the rest of your day.

According to my calculations (which, mind you, were created without any actual math or science or numbers), a person will have about a dozen well-formulated thoughts on their morning commute. These are some ideas that might cross your average commuter’s mind whilst taking advantage of the New York City Transit system.

1. As our commuter boards the train, they will find themselves especially lucky if they find a seat near the door. This way, they won’t have to push past too many people when the train arrives at their stop, and there is only potential for being squished by one other person, instead of two. They settle themselves with their bag in their lap and their coffee balanced in one hand, and they squint at the list of the stations that their train will be stopping at. If they’re lucky, they caught an express train, and there are no service changes, and they won’t have to transfer (but what are the chances of all of that luck?) So they settle themselves in their little corner, pop their earbuds in, and get themselves mentally prepared for the day.

2. As the train moves forward our commuter will begin to look around. They will notice the names and drawings penciled into the seat next to them. They will wonder how long ago those names were inscribed. How long ago had Andy and Jennifer sat together on this subway cart? And what were the likes that they would ever be in that seat again? With all of the subway trains in the system and all of the cars on those trains, was it mathematically possible to sit in the same seat more than once?

3. Our commuter will start thinking about the immensity of the subway system and they’ll wonder how it was even possible that people could build so many underground tunnels. They found it hard to separate themselves from their laptop in the morning, yet hundreds of people had planned and dug this enormous maze into the earth. This is vaguely disappointing- maybe they’ll start deleting their social media accounts like they’ve been planning to do and start doing more with their day.

4. They could start running, or do yoga or get back into swimming. Maybe they could finally write that novel that they’d been wanting to write since they were fifteen. Or they could volunteer more, and give back to the community. And they should spend more time preparing for their job… starting tomorrow, they would do all of these things, and they would start being a better person.

5. Oh, but it would be so difficult to delete social media. Without it, how could they ever let their high-school fling know that they’re doing just fine without them? And their older family members would be disappointed if they didn’t post any updated photos on Facebook. And, let’s be honest, Facebook is where they get most of their news…

6. Speaking of Facebook, they think about the video they’d seen the other day, the one about the subway stations that were abandoned in New York City. They were all so beautiful, with their golden archways and chandeliers… maybe one of these days they’ll gather enough courage to ride the train into one of those abandoned stations, and see it for themselves. But perhaps it would be one of those cases where the idea was better than reality? Sometimes the beauty was the mystery. Plus, if they got caught, they’d probably owe a hefty fine to the city, and they definitely couldn’t afford that.

7. Our passenger looks up from their lap towards the window across from them, where the darkened subway tiles are racing through their own reflection. They notice the person across from them is staring their direction. Are they looking at them? Or at the map behind them? If the stranger is good-looking, our commuter, feeling brave, may stare alluringly back into their eyes. If not, they look back down at their lap and pretend to be occupied with their phone. In most cases, the second option is the route taken.

8. How many missed opportunities have there been, our passenger wonders, where I wanted to talk to someone but was too afraid? They wonder if there is an alternate universe for every missed opportunity, in which they were in a long-term relationship with these people or at least had gone on a date or two. They wonder if the universe gives you multiple opportunities to end up with a certain person, or if it’s a once in a lifetime kind of deal. That would be kind of sucky of the universe, especially with how timid people are these days. People need more than one chance in order to decide that it’s fate and gather enough hutzpah to finally just go for it.

9. More than halfway through their journey, our passenger looks up as the train lets on a crowd of people. An older person steps on the train, and feeling generous, our commuter gives their seat up for them and wraps their hand around the pole. They wonder how long that person has lived in New York. They think about the people in the suburbs, who stay stubbornly in their hometown their entire lives. They wonder if Manhattan is the same way. They can’t see themselves living in the city for the rest of their lives, but it’s interesting how people’s lives pan out. Sometimes you end up staying in a place much longer than you expect, and vice versa.

10. Next to them, a couple is holding each other, swaying with the train and looking into each other’s eyes. Our commuter watches them with jealousy or admiration, depending on the day. They wonder how long the couple has been together, do they plan on getting married? Having a family together? Or are they in the early months of dating, when they’re still getting to know one another and find each other’s little idiosyncrasies adorable?

11. They wonder if people are meant to be with one person their entire life, or if monogamy is actually impossible, and it’s really just a concept so embedded in the culture that people are afraid to stray away from it. They’ve heard some cynics say that people just get in relationships because they’re afraid to be alone, but they hope that that’s not true. They think that a person has to know how to be alone before they fall in love. But sometimes in the city, with so many people around you, that’s goddamn hard to do.

12. The train arrives at their stop and our passenger pushes themselves through the crowd of people and into the station. They hoist their bag over their shoulder and balance their coffee in their hands, and rush through the swarm of people to the exit of the station, which promises (slightly) fresher air and sunlight. The thoughts that they had on the subway fall to the back of their brain and they begin to focus on more immediate matters, like the best walking route to where they need to be and what they plan to do once they arrive.