We are living in a changing world where people must accept change without hesitation. In the article “The Way We Live Now:11-11-01; Lost and Found,” Colson Whitehead tries to express how your neighborhood changes and progress with you or without you. The author expresses change in NYC and how did it happen so fast. The places you loved are no longer there. Also,  the places you once loved and enjoyed throughout the years are no longer there. Lewis explains that in an ever-changing society people must understand and accept change. As we evolve we must accept the evolution of people and communities, and how we must change our mindset. The overlapping pieces in both stories are focused on sending a clear message that we must accept change in our neighborhoods, cities and states.   Places change and people change and so do communities and we must understand and accept that change is good for society and the people living in those communities..  Historically, Lewis has bared witness to prejudice, racism and injustice in America and he strongly advocated that we must not stop now that we must fight with all that we have. He was eager to relate the message about experiences in America especially as he states “When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st Century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war.” Lewis was proud of the people and their fight for survival. He sounded proud of his people and wanted to let them know although he is no longer there to witness change that we as a community must continue the fight. We as a generation go down in History as the generation that fought for social change. Similarly to Colson Whitehead, is also letting the reader know that change is ok and we must accept it because  we must remember that we were once “those new kids on the block, but let’s be patient and not judge too quickly.”

In many ways I can relate to both writers but mostly with Colson because change in the NYC I grew up has been inevitable. I live in a gentrified neighborhood where the people who are left are called the “has been.” The street I grew up in is no longer the same, the corner bodega is no longer there, and the neighborhood supermarket is a Whole Foods Supermarket. I related on so many levels as I read because my neighborhood has changed so much. Our neighborhood has been gentrified and we as a community did not see that coming. I can relate because every-time I take a walk in my neighborhood something has changed. The theater that my grand uncle once owned is now a high rise. The memories of my neighborhood and NYC will forever be there in what I consider my childhood memories because the NYC that I grew up in is no longer the same is a beautiful vivd memory of the “has beens.”