BROOKLYN – Before I came to New York I had some ideas of what the people and life here would be like. Mostly, none of these have come true.

I expected everyone to be in a hurry and extremely pushy. People are in a hurry when trying to get to work on time, but I frequently find myself walking past people when I’m going places.

The worst place to walk is Times Square.

This is not caused by New Yorkers but by all of the tourists gawking at the incredible amount of advertisements available in this small area.

I would avoid Times Square at all costs if I could, but because it’s the home of most of the theaters, I find myself there roughly once a week.

There have also been many instances where New Yorkers I’ve met have been exceedingly nice.

I’ve watched men give up seats on the subway for women, the elderly and the disabled. When I’ve been short a penny paying for something, I’ve been told to not worry about it.

I’ve even been asked to not pay the change when it’s only a few pennies.

Another expectation was that crime would be rampant, or at least as rampant as it is in Youngstown, Ohio. If there is crime here, no one talks about it.

It doesn’t make headlines in the papers.

It’s not what people talk about at work.

There may be pickpockets, but I don’t hear about them, either.

When I was in high school, groups at band camp always performed the skit ‘New York Mugging.’ I guess this made me expect to witness the occasional mugging or see high security everywhere.

On the Fourth, there were police officers on every corner in Brooklyn, but this didn’t surprise me. I have been surprised by the armored police officers I’ve seen a handful of times over the past two weeks in Grand Central Terminal.

These are heavy-duty police officers. They have special patches that say something about terrorism and they wear helmets, giant bulletproof vests and carry large, black guns that are out and appear ready for use.

I’ve seen these officers mostly on the platforms, but they have also stood outside the gates. They’ve even had a dog out with them.

But like anything that, at the onset, is unfamiliar to me here, even these officers have become part of what I see every day and have ceased to really concern me. In New York City, nothing is weird. It may be slightly shocking, but nothing is out of the question.

The other point that isn’t what I expected is Brooklyn as a whole. I’ve decided that Brooklyn gets a bad rep. Not all of Brooklyn is shady and crime ridden.

I haven’t been anywhere that has been scary. I’ve been reading a book of short essays by writers living in Brooklyn and most of their parents didn’t want them to live in Brooklyn because they had ‘escaped’ to Manhattan and couldn’t understand why anyone would want to return to America’s first suburb. The reasons for moving here usually include lower rents and more space.

I love Brooklyn Heights. I wouldn’t mind living here if I could ever afford the rent, which doesn’t seem possible for a long time. This neighborhood might be a sugarcoated Brooklyn, but it’s still Brooklyn.

The streets have trees. The sidewalks are made of slate. The houses were built in the late 1800s and have gorgeous facades. There are two streets with all the shopping one needs to survive.

This neighborhood is like a small town.

It’s quiet.

People play catch in the streets. There’s no pushing or shoving to go anywhere. The grocery stores close by 11 p.m.

I know that if I didn’t live here this summer, I probably never would have broadened my New York horizons like I have.

I’m glad to have had this experience and I’m appreciative of my housing in Brooklyn.

If I didn’t live here, I bet I wouldn’t have made the subway ride to check anything out other than the Brooklyn Bridge. And I know I’ll always tell people to visit Brooklyn when they come to New York City.

– Respond to Alison at [email protected].