During my study abroad trip to Italy, my class had the opportunity to visit the famous Colosseum. We entered the Colosseum on the ground floor, a point of view that meant death during the Roman empire. We also noticed shafts that were under construction underneath the ground level, depicting the intricacy of the design of the Colosseum. We were told that battles were very popular in this dome, often being reenacted in stylized form for entertainment. Among battles were also gladiator fights, executions, and shows. I learned that the Jews were the people that did the labor for the construction of the Colosseum, due to the fact that they were the most recently conquered group for the Roman empire.

When we toured the Colosseum, we noticed that part of the top was being reconstructed. This slightly saddened me because I thought that a part of ancient architecture was being lost with the addition of newer parts. It was also extremely intimidating to stand in the middle of the Colosseum because it gave me a greater understanding of the horrors that were committed in this arena. I thought that visiting this area was an extremely growing experience due to the fact that It helped me better understand the epicenter of ancient western civilization.

During the summer of 2019, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Italy. While we visited many great architectural feats, the Pantheon was one of my favorites. Located in the center of Rome, the Pantheon is a temple that was designed using geometrical shapes. This temple was created in 127 CE and was devoted to the earth gods in ancient Roman mythology. The walls in this temple on the ground were noted to be 27 feet thick and become progressively thinner as it got closer to the dome. The slant thickness of this temple was done in order to hold up the massive dome sitting on its top. Furthermore, the lower walls were made of gravel and then turned into stone/concrete as it progressed in height.

My favorite component of this building is the hole at the top of the dome, allowing the inside of the temple to allow the weather to enter the building itself. This hole was created in order to create a connection between the physical and metaphysical world, showcasing the Roman connection between them and their gods. This building impacted me in a positive way because it showed the creativity and depth these ancient architects conducted in order to showcase their beliefs while also making monumental feats. The ideals behind this building have encouraged me to try to make a personal connection to all the activities and assignments that I take up. I was struck with awe when I entered the building because the combination of the pillars that were all beautifully crafted and the natural light that came in through the roof really enunciated the beauty of the dome itself.

Last Fall I had a job interview at Facebook’s Headquarters in Menlo Park.

It seemed like Facebook took pride in the huge and impressive campus. It was like a more professional version of a theme park. Architecturally, it incorporated a lot of glass, concrete, exposed duct work, open floor plans, and greenery. The greenery in particular was striking. Many of the rooftops had what looked like miniature forests on top. At one point another candidate mentioned to me that there was a “mile-long rooftop garden” on one of the buildings. I don’t know if that was true, but such a garden would have fit right in.

I also got to see the legendary Facebook microkitchens, where employees can take a break from work to grab a healthy snack. These kitchens, like all the greenery, serve a practical purpose in improving employees’ well-being. I imagine it would be much easier to feel burned out if you went to work every day in a drab gray office with none of these amenities.

Finally, I’m sure that all these architectural decisions were also intended to impress prospective hires. They certainly had that effect on me, and I was ecstatic when I got the offer. I will be starting work at the Menlo Park headquarters in July!

A couple of years ago I attended a wedding that was of my sister-in-law’s family. They had it in the Ritz-Carleton in San Francisco. When I went it seemed overwhelming because I had never been in a building that was as nice as this one. When I stepped in there, there was a huge Christmas tree right in the middle of the room. They had the whole place decorated with Christmas decorations and everything was very elegant.

We spent time taking pictures in a different floor where there was literally a fake staircase that led to just a blocked off wall. I think it was for decoration purposes, which was weird to me. Everything there was white and very light. We also had the wedding reception outside, but there was a large ceiling and some sort of tent. After that we all went back inside the building and there was a bar in the salon we were in. Everything lit up really nicely with the colored lights.

Between travelling to college, summer internships, and job interviews, I’ve been to a lot of airports. But my favorite would probably have to be Dallas Fort Worth.

I’ve been there exactly once. As I found my way to my gate, I realized that it must be one of the largest airports in the world. Usually at an airport, you will see one to three computer monitors that list all the upcoming flights, but I remember seeing an entire wall at DFW covered in monitors. Even with that much space, the flight details were shown in tiny font to fit them all.

The most mind-blowing part of DFW was that it had its own elevated train system called Skylink. There was a miniature train station built into the building, which I got to use. The ride aboard Skylink was way longer than I expected it to be, and as I looked out the windows, I realized that DFW was more like a city than an airport.

Some people find airports boring or stressful, but I enjoy them. The clean, white, metal architecture and the huge glass windows give off a science fiction vibe, and they really are a feat of engineering. Sometimes when I’m sitting around waiting at an airport like DFW, I’ll just watch the thousands of people heading to their destinations all over the world. And I’ll think, if we can build a system like this, the sky’s the limit for our future.

The City Museum is St. Louis is hands-down the most interesting, creative architecture I’ve ever seen. It was the most memorable stop on my family’s St. Louis vacation several years ago.

Most museums have a “no touching the exhibits” rule, but not this one. The building is basically a giant playground. The rooms all have different themes, but everything can be climbed on, slid down, or explored.

This idea was exhilarating to me as a little kid, so I ran off from my parents and went exploring on my own. At first they were annoyed and insisted I stay close to them, but eventually they agreed to let me wander a ways off as long as I kept in contact by text.

It was a really fun day for me, and I got a small taste of independence. I think my parents included the City Museum as a stop on our vacation because of me and my little sisters. They knew we would be bored by all the “adult” activities–the local restaurants, guided tours, etc–so they took us to a place that is like paradise for kids.

The Convention Center in Vancouver Canada, is one of the most beautiful convention centers I have ever been to in my life. It sits right up against the water and is right in the Heart of Canada. The convention center holds over 500 events a year, it is 466,500 square feet, and also includes a six acre living roof. The living roof is one of my favorites part about the convention center that not everyone knows, there are very few events there that even acknowledge the living roof at all.

The living roof is the largest in Canada consisting of more than 4,000 different plants and grasses, it is a home for 240,000 bees as well as Canadian geese who return every year to raise their young. Every 2 weeks the grass gets mowed and there is more than 11,000 pounds of grass collected. This was something I learned after my last cheer competition there and I have taken a lot fo interest in it and keeping updated with how it is doing.

The Convention Center is only 2 hours from my house and I have been there many times for cheer competitions. My family, friends and I travel there together and get to compete in the most beautiful place. There is an open roof where the warm up room is and there are birds flying all around you and it just makes you appreciate the scenery. It is one of the prettiest places to be in January when the sun is shining and beating off the water reflecting onto the building and at night when the convention center is all lit up and shining bright onto the water and it almost make you see two fo the buildings.

The convention center was where I had my last ever cheerleading competition close to home and it was the only place i could ever imagine finishing my career at. It reminds me so much of my journey and my life and how far i had come from the first time i competed there to the last time i competed there. The convention center is a constant reminder of how far i have come as a cheerleader and as a person and I am so thankful for a place that is able to show me who i really have become.

When I was younger, my Mom would take me to the St. Charles Public Library to check out books.

The library was a welcoming building with a lot of natural light. It felt huge to me as a little kid, with endless sections and back aisles, and every time we went seemed like an adventure.

At first we stuck mainly to the sections in the front, where they kept the picture books with big text, but as I got better at reading, we pushed further back into the rows, where the books had more writing and were broken into chapters. We never got anything from upstairs, which was for serious nonfiction and scientific research, but I would still nag my Mom to take me up there so I could look around. I remember marveling at the giant encyclopedias and their intimidating titles.

Looking back, I think the library helped me to see reading as something exciting. Making it out of the kids section to the more serious books felt like a challenge, and it encouraged me to read more. There is still a place in my heart for those green carpets and that rich, dusty smell.

The ESPN World Wide Sports Complex in Orlando Florida was built in 1997, in 2011 they then added the HP Field House. The HP field house is one of the most technological advanced buildings in the world for sports teams. It is known to be the best place for high caliber competitions. It seats 5,500 people and the main floor is 30,000 square feet.  The complex itself host all types of sports events, however the HP Field house is mostly known for hosting cheerleading events.

The HP Field house is a place I admire it carries so much magic in it. The field house reminds me of strength, power, talent, and dreams. I have felt fear, happiness, let downs, excitements and sadness. It’s a place that can make or break your dreams and goals. The HP Field house, allows the most talented cheerleaders in the world to show what they are made of, what they can really do and what they have been working all year for.

I have been to this building 17 times now for cheerleading events since 2012. This is where the best of the best cheerleading teams go to compete. When I have gone there for the cheerleading worlds, I made it to finals many times, and then haven’t a couple times. In 2012 I got a taste of what a champion is and it made me hungry to win. This building has given me a goal to become a world or national champion one day and I wont stop until I do.

This building makes dreams come true. Everyone always talks about Disneyworld and how its the happiest place on the planet, and for me the HP Field House is my Disneyland, it is my happy place. No matter how I leave the building feeling I know I did something great in there. I know that everything I worked for paid off no matte the outcome. The HP feildhouse holds more memories for me than any place on the planet.

Back when I was in high school I went on a trip to Boston, MA with my mom. I was ecstatic. At the time, US history had been one of the classes I was most interested in, so traveling to Boston only a few months after the completion of the course was exciting to be able to go and explore first-hand some of the places I had learned so much about in class. Standing outside of the Old South Meeting House, an over 300-year-old building, knowing how much of our history and historical events came out of that one building was mind boggling. While I would not say so much anymore, I used to be a big history buff, so that experience left such a positive and life changing impact on me, as did many of the other sights and buildings I got to go and see

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