The Catholic church shown above is the Parish of Christ the King. Christ the King was dedicated by Bishop Francis C. Kelly in May of 1928 and was the first church in the world dedicated with the name “Christ the King”. The semi-octagonal sanctuary, communion rain, and elevated altar work together to create the design of the Turners Cross. The beautiful stained-glass windows were designed by Alfonso Iannelli and made by the Temple Art Glass Company of Chicago. The windows today rank among the finest examples of stained glass in the U.S.  The south side illustrates the kings of the Old Testament, and the north side illustrates the kings of the New Testaments. Emil Frei, Inc. Bruce Goff designed the mosaic of Christ altar. The church contains many more symbolic details making it a very interesting piece of architecture.

The Parish of Christ the King has had a positive effect on myself. I have attended this church since I was young, and I immediately feel welcomed when I enter this building. The outside of the church also shows great detail and has unique angles and symmetry. The beautiful stained glass is striking and depicts a story with the images on the windows. When you first enter the church, you walk into a lobby which is always flooded with people prior to church starting. Once you enter the church you are in complete silence; I always am overcome by peace and holiness. The friendships I have made through this church, that have remained constant throughout my entire life, are what makes this work of architecture so special to me.

Information retrieved from https://turnerscross.com/architecture/barry-byrne/church-of-christ-the-king-tulsa-oklahoma-1926/

The gym and working out is an everyday part of my life, I love to workout and exercise, 10 gym is important to me because it is the first gym that I joined when I was in High School and still actively have a membership there and am there every single day. I like to workout because it helps me release stress from my everyday life and with school. Being able to not have to worry about anything while I am at the gym makes it feel like a second home. I have always enjoyed being active but with 10 gym they make it so much easier and it is a great environment.

Lifetime Fitness is a gym that has many locations nationwide, but the one that has had an enormous impact on my life is the one located in Flower Mound, Texas. This building was located about 5 minutes from my house in a fairly central spot in the town, so it was heavily utilized by the citizens. My friends and I spent hours and sometimes days at a time in this Lifetime whether we were working out, playing basketball, or swimming, we always found ways to make use of our time there.

I very much enjoyed coming to this building and it provided me some great memories and useful skills. I still attend this same Lifetime when I am home for any reason, and while some things inside have changed such as layout or design, it is still the same building I spent all those hours in. I am grateful to have a place like this that I am comfortable and am able to enjoy my time.

After my senior year of High School I went on my senior trip to Hawaii, more specifically I went to Maui, The Big Island and Oahu. But one of my favorite sights from the trip was getting to see the Aloha Tower. This Tower was not only beautiful it was also very large. The tower was built in 1926, the tower was the tallest buildings on the islands for four decades and had one of the largest clocks in the whole United States. The Tower stands at a whopping 184 ft high, plus a 40 ft flag mast. The tower is a lighthouse and is considered one of the most famous landmarks of Hawaii.

When I visited the tower I was in amazement of the sheer beauty and massiveness of it, when I went to the 10th floor observation deck I was able to see so much, you can see all of downtown Honolulu and the harbor. The sights from the observation deck were so beautiful and I did not want to leave. Seeing the beauty of the sights and the building itself is so breathtaking.

Another building that has influenced me is the dorms where I lived my freshman year, Adams Center.  I would say there was both positive and negative ways it influenced me. Starting with negative, our tower, Muldrow, was nicknamed mildew for a reason I am sure you can guess. The dorms contributed to several sicknesses and were quite cramped, but there were also positives. A good amount of my friends lived in the dorms, so it was also good memories of that and the interesting times we had there. The architecture stood out to me, but in a way, it seemed a bit out of place beside, of course, the brick construction. It seemed like they needed an update or demolition to catch up with OU’s progress.

Gold’s Gym is a place that made a very positive impact on my life years ago and continues to today. This is where I went when I first started getting into health and fitness. The building was very different than most of the other gyms in Norman or Moore. It was much bigger and open, it created a much more welcoming and open environment. The front of the building was almost entirely made of glass so I enjoyed being able to see out and look on what was going on around the gym during a workout.  I started going with my dad and he showed me the basics of working out and lifting. I began to associate it with getting to spend time with my dad and doing something both of us loved, working out. It became a place I genuinely enjoyed going to and looked forward to going to almost everyday.

For my last blog, I will be discussing my childhood elementary school, Darnaby Elementary in Tulsa, OK. Darnaby is a part of the Union Public School System and has been around since 1980 and is named after James R. Darnaby who was involved in Union’s board of education for many years prior. The school is in the same neighborhood as me, so I have been able to see it continue to change and update as I got older. I have many good and some bad experiences here but overall positive memories.

I remember how big I used to think the building was along with its gym, cafeteria, playground, and hallways when I was attending. I have visited again since while I was about 13-14 and I realized just how much smaller the building actually is on the inside vs how I remembered it as a kid. There used to be a small courtyard garden in the middle of the school, and it might still be there, but I am unable to find any pictures or information on if it’s still around. It was always really cool and relaxing to walk to class and see birds, squirrels, and plants in the middle of the school, surrounded by glass windows. I am glad that I had the opportunity to attend such a great school during my childhood and maybe one day my kids will get that chance too.

One of the buildings I have selected is Price Hall. Price hall is a building I am in daily and view it in a positive light. I remember freshman year, I would always get confused between Adams and Price Hall as they were connected. I used not to like this building simply because it was the furthest walk from the dorms and where I lived, but when I began to get into my major-specific classes and started spending more time in Price, I realized I enjoy the architecture and design of it. The way the building seems to draw you in and the study areas bring a relaxing feeling which helps when you are having to study for hours.

There are two Chick Fil A locations in Odessa, Texas. The one I will be focusing on is the one located at 3805 E 42nd St, Odessa, TX 79762. This was the first and only location in Odessa until 2019. The location fo the Chick Fil A is on the busiest road in Odessa, 42nd street, and in a shopping center with very limited parking.

The inside of the building is like an normal Chick Fil A. When you walk in you are directly met by the line to order food, which can be very overwhelming during lunch and dinner time. The main problem with the building is the location. Since it is on the busiest street, traffic makes it very difficult to navigate to the parking lot or drive thru.

Noel Elementary is a public school located in Odessa, Texas. I was not able to find when the building was made, but I found out 609 students are currently enrolled in grades kindergarten through 5th grade.

I personally attended Noel for all the grades available at the time, which included kindergarten through 6th grade. My favorite part of the building was that each grade had their own wing. This separation allowed