My old stomping grounds, as you can see in this photo this place is located in Yukon, OK. From when I was 12 until 17 I lived here. The layout of this house had a huge living room right as you walked in. On the right, the kitchen, dining room, and garage are located. On the left, is all the bedrooms. There were some interesting parts of this house that made it unique. An example of this is how the roof was so high then just dropped off on the other side at a steep angle. It overall is a simplistic build in the eyes of an architect, but I have many good memories of this house. There were mostly good memories with my family and friends during important moments of my life. It was a house that all the essentials and looking back on it, I have no complaints.

My own home in Tulsa, Oklahoma will always be a piece of architecture that has had a big impact on my life. My parents added on to it when I was in kindergarten and has been my home ever since. My parents liked its old style and meticulously restored it from a dilapidated state as well as making sure the expansion matched the original house. It was built in 1926 by Charles Dilbeck, an architect known for his homes in Dallas. I loved running around the large back yard and playing in the rocks left over from construction as a kid. I am biased, but I prefer the hominess that comes with an older homes compared to some modern buildings. Of course I wasn’t responsible for all the maintenance that comes with an older home, but I will never forget this house and all the memories I made here.

This is the original blue print for the house in 1926.

This is the house now.

This is La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Spain. I visited this Gaudi inspired architecture during my same trip back in 2015 and I had to incorporate it even though we had talked about it in class. When you walk in from the outside you were already taken away by the amount of detail in the building and then when you walk in, you are taken away again. It is a wonderful experience to have.

One of the things that meant so much to me, is to see how many people were there to admire the architect who set the plans to build it. It was the first time the name of the architect stuck with me and I have not forgotten about him or that building to this day.

Permian High School is a public school  located in Odessa, Texas that was opened in 1959. Permian was also the inspiration for a book turned movie “Friday Night Lights”.

I attended Permian High School from years 2014-2018. In 2015 Permian added an additional wing to the building. It was interesting to see the difference in how the town buildings were built. The newer wing was more modern with much more windows, while the older wing had lower ceilings and less natural light.

The Woolaroc Museum is located near Bartlesville, Oklahoma and was founded by Frank Phillips. The name comes from the combination of what Frank Phillips wanted to preserve in nature ‘Woo-Woods, La-Lakes, Roc-Rocks’. Woolaroc itself is a large nature preserve that expands acres and is home to a range of animals and fauna including a large number of American Bison. The museum is one building in this expansive landscape that is home to numerous artifacts that span centuries. Some of these artifacts include native American artifacts, animal artifacts, and some of the early petroleum industry artifacts that Frank Phillips owned. I went here numerous times when I was a kid and still go every once in a while, now when I am home. I remember how amazing I thought it was, being blown away by the bison walking across the road, and of course how cool the museum was. When it came to the museum, I thought it was always fun to see all the mounted animals as well as some of the pelts that you could touch and feel. When I first visited Woolaroc the thing I remember the most was how amazingly large the blue doors to the museum was. It felt like you were entering a large hall of a castle. I still love to visit the museum and see the new artifacts or areas of the museum as well as visiting the ones that have been there since the first time I went. One of the best parts of Woolaroc is around Christmas time they put up huge light displays all through the park and the museum. It still brings me joy to be able to go every year and see the lights and drink a hot chocolate. Woolaroc will always hold a special place in my heart and it is one of my favorite places to visit.

This is the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. The Dallas Cowboys are a professional football team that get to play in this extraordinary stadium. Although this stadium was built for the Dallas Cowboys, it is used for all kinds of different events. These different events attract visitors from all over which allows so many people to see the true beauty of this stadium. This stadium is over 3 million-square-foot and has the capacity to hold up to 100,000 fans. This stadium features two monumental arches that soar 292 feet above the playing field which support a retractable roof. This stadium has unique and appealing features all throughout which catches the human eye. I chose this stadium because of the unique design that has left me in awe every time I have been there.

The Atlanta aquarium is one of my favorite places to visit, due to the feeling of wonder I get every time I visit. The first time I came here I was just 7 years old and was fascinated and obsessed with sharks. The aquarium had only been open a few months at the time, so everyone was still excited to see it. I remember the line was the longest line I had ever seen even to this day. It felt like we would never actually go inside the huge building. We eventually got in and I was amazed, the tanks were huge with what felt like hundreds of thousands of fish swimming in the crystal-clear blue water. The reason why I was so excited was because the Atlanta Aquarium was the only one in the world that had whale sharks in captivity. The first time I saw them it was inside of this tunnel with a moving floor that took you right under the tank. I was in awe of just how large the whale sharks were. They looked like they were bigger than my school and seemed as if they were swimming so effortlessly. I remember being so happy to see them, that I spent probably an hour just staring at them and watching them swim. This was easily my favorite vacation we had taken as a family at that point and I will always remember the feeling of joy and how ecstatic I was seeing the larges sharks in the world. I have been back once since that day and it was just this past January, and it still made me lose my mind over how amazing that building still is. Again, I spent at least an hour just looking at the whale sharks and was still in awe of their shear size. That is why I will always be excited any time I get to go to my favorite aquarium in the world.

The Palace on the Prairie will always be my favorite place on OU’s campus. The first time I came here I was only 8 years old as my family has always been OU fans. I remember walking to the stadium with people holding signs that said, “We got Ducked”, as we had had a controversial loss the week before to the Oregon Ducks. I also remember seeing the jumbotron and how I had never seen a screen that big. The game was a blowout, we played Middle Tennessee that day and we ended up winning 59-0. The best part was Adrian Peterson had a great game and scored what seemed like almost every play. I will always remember that day so fondly as it was my first time getting to experience one of the most amazing atmospheres in the world.

This stadium means so much to me as it was where I felt the most joy throughout my time here at OU. I have attended countless spring games and attended every home game during my 4 years at OU. Every time I walked into that stadium, I got goosebumps. To hear all 86,000 sooner fans screaming and yelling for the whole game always gave me chills. There were losses here, but those cannot ruin the memories I have of us winning games with a sea of crimson and cream surrounding Owen field. There are some plays that I can still close my eyes and see like a movie playing in my mind. I will always remember my last home game here at OU. We were playing TCU, and we had gotten out to a big lead. Then we let them come back and make the game close, but the play that won us that game was when Brendan Radley-Hiles intercepted a slant over the middle and ended the game. When the game was over, I just stood there in the stands looking at the stadium and the field. It was hard to leave knowing that as a student this would be my last game at Gaylord. That is why this is my favorite place in the world, Gaylord Memorial Stadium.

Sarkeys Energy Center is what I consider my home away from home. As a petroleum engineer, I have had close to 75% of my classes over the last 3 years in this building. The first time I saw this building I was up for a scholarship and had to interview in Sarkeys. I remember looking at the height of the building and being intimidated by its large frame. I also remember being lost and confused in its complicated hallways and numbering. I remember riding the older squeaky elevator all the way up to the 12^th floor. The only view I had was away from campus, so it wasn’t the best view in Norman. When I left Sarkeys that day, I had no idea how much I would grow to hate the tall brick building in the corner of campus.

I have had no shortage of bad memories inside of Sarkeys, spending hours at a time without ever leaving. Inside these walls I have gotten a 14, and a 12 on two separate tests. I still somehow passed both of those classes with C’s. I can remember staying in the computer lab studying for finals until 4 in the morning on some days. I have memories of having panic attacks due to a test that I knew I was not prepared for. This building represents so much struggle and pain that I had to endure to receive my degree. There are some good memories, I had successes inside this building with multiple semesters of mostly A’s and one or two B’s. I always liked going to the bottom floor to the coffee shop inside of Sarkeys and how friendly the staff was after I had gone 3 times a week for semester after semester. In the end, Sarkeys will always remain a major part of my life here at OU whether I want it to or not. I cannot wait for the day I can leave this building in the past and in my memories as I drive away one last time.

My first building is the Donald W.  Reynolds Recreation Center in Pauls Valley, OK. This building means a lot to me. When I was in 8th grade I went to the 5:30 A.M. grand opening of this great establishment. It has a weight room, indoor track, and 3 full-sized basketball courts. I spent the majority of my time throughout junior high and high school at the Rec Center. I still to this day workout at the Rec Center four times a week. This building means everything to me, my biggest passion is working out, so when I think of the Rec Center I think of my favorite things.