DISCLAIMER: I do NOT condone giving money to street/subway performers. The small section where I talk about it a bit is only to get my point across.

You know those people, the ones who barge in on your late morning or early afternoon commute, and generally put on display what could only be described as a cringe-worthy performance leaving you to wonder what horrible thing you did to deserve having to sit through it all.

Sometimes you get lucky, and you are provided with decent quality entertainment. The performer may be a good singer, be able to play an instrument well, perform a break dance move you've never seen before, or maybe even provide some inspirational words through poetry. These are the kinds of people that make me think to myself "How did you not make it in entertainment, why are you struggling in life?", and I mean it with sincerity.

Then there are others who make you wish you were someplace else. For instance, there's the dancer performing a gymnastics routine, or something along those lines, who almost (and sometimes does!) accidentally kick a passenger in the middle of their routine. You contemplate whether you should call the police on them for endangering others, or if you should instead chalk it up to a bad/off day and forget about it. Then there's that one person who resorts to annoying you to death by asking for you for a "smile" after their routine, since you aren't going to throw money at them. You would love to look them straight in the eye, laugh in their face, and proceed to give them a menacingly evil stare until they go away. Or let's say you aren't even on the train yet, as you are waiting for it to arrive at your stop. You hear this very strange sound that could only be described as "heavy, but occasionally transitioning into a very awkward squeak". You listen intently, trying to piece it all together when you soon realize that you have been listening to someone sing a classic song in an incredibly heavy foreign accent that you are unable to recognize according to any of the regional, or cultural stereotypes you have been told about over the course of your life. You try your hardest to remain composed, fighting the urge to go up to the singer and outright steal the microphone from them and begin singing in your "pure, accent-less" voice as a way to show up the performer, even if you suck at singing yourself.

You decide not to actually do these things to anyone. It's most likely because you are a decent human being who's respectful towards others in general. (Never mind that you don't want to anger a stranger, potentially putting yourself in danger) It also may have something to do with the fact that you took a look at their "bucket/plastic bag", or whatever they use to store money, and notice that it is completely empty. "BLASPHEMY!" You say to yourself. Surely these people are only hiding the money they made on that day from view so that they look poorer. Then another thought comes to mind. Is it possible that maybe they are afraid somebody is going to steal their money if they leave it out in the open? Surely they must realize what kind of danger they are putting themselves in by doing their act in public in front of complete strangers. Whether you love the few quality acts that exist, or hate everyone for disrupting your day, you've got to appreciate that they can take you away from all the different things that cause stress in your life, even if it's only for 5 minutes.