Being from Norman, I never really had the desire to attend the University of Oklahoma. I wanted to get away and go somewhere that wasn’t where I grew up. I would go to class and do the bare minimum I needed to do to get through college but it wasn’t until about half way through sophomore year that I began to really admire the architecture and buildings that were on campus. My favorite being the Biz. It wasn’t until this point that I began to finally appreciate a new found sense of pride and love in my university. Having this love for my university affected my experience here at OU in an extremely positive way. I no longer see it as the place where I’ve been basically my whole life, it is now this beautiful campus that I have the privilege to attend and something to be proud of.

Sarkey’s Fitness Center (formerly Huston Huffman Fitness Center, or simply the Huff), is on OU’s campus located across from the dorm towers. It was built in 1981, and been renovated a few times since then. I have mixed emotions when thinking about and looking at this building, nothing to do with the architecture, but more so in how poor it is in comparison to competing colleges fitness centers.

The Huff has very simple architecture, using primarily red brick and a white concrete top section in blocks. It is two separate buildings, connected under a walkway and most of the center is underground. On the inside, it is somewhat typical to giant fitness centers of other universities, mostly concrete with high ceilings. In comparison to other colleges, it is small in size and amenities. The building leaks water inside when it rains and doesn’t have a pool within the building like many others, rather the pool is detached and a few blocks down. Even with the deficiencies I still very much have enjoyed my time spent at the Huff, and the staff does its best to make it welcoming for all students.

Another building I saw and was impressed by on my trip to NYC was Federal Hall. I didn’t know much about it, and didn’t even plan to visit it but as we were walking through Wall Street. I didn’t know until after taking this picture, that it is the location where George Washington took his oath to become the first President of the US.

I was impressed by the Greek Revival style architecture, and the marble stone look. The building was built in 1842, and one of the best surviving examples of this architecture style in NYC. The Greek Revival Architecture is what originally caught my eye, and got me to take the picture with a proud George Washington statue out front. Only after did I look up the historical significance of the building and realized the importance of it, and that I stood on those steps.

It’s been 13 years since I was in London, but the building I remember the most was Big Ben. The inside was elegant, lined with huge murals of past leaders. The walls seemed to be covered in gold and silver and each room contained elegant furnishings. I remember a room that seemed like a dining room because of the massive table setup with dishes and silverware. Even the chairs seemed elegant and real, as in real precious metals and fine cloth. While I was 7 at the time I remember the ceiling felt like they were 20 feet up and everything there felt tall. Even though everything in the building seemed expensive and “royal” it had this home feeling. On the outside, the massive clock tower was prominent, like a bold statement. The design of the building reminded me of a prison. Small windows and big pillars on either side. The pointy towers on the walls seem to me like barbed wire to show security. So a home feel on the inside but secure and defensive on the outside.

The Cathedral in Cologne, Germany is the biggest church I have ever been inside. When you first walk in you can see down a giant open hallway lined with pews and people talking. The inside was pretty dark, lit by torches and small light fixtures. The ceiling felt like it reached the sky, while the hallways seemed to go on for miles. I was able to go up into one of the towers and I remember when we were close to the top we came to an open round area. It seemed like a rest spot for the stairs, but it was big enough that you could have thought it was a common area. An area to trade goods in or converse with one another. Near the top were open windows that allowed birds in, and natural lighting. I didn’t go all the way up, but this room felt like you were still on the ground while being inside.

The Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle Washington was built in 1944, it was built with $1.1 million dollars that was donated by  Civil Aeronautics Administration and The City of Tacoma. Sea Tac might not be a very big airport compared to airports like Denver, but it is the biggest airport in Seattle which allows close to 52 million people to travel. Sea Tac is also ranked 13th for the busiest cargo airport in the country. Sea Tac is trying is become the best airport for the environment, beginning with having the smallest carbon footprint to all others airports.

I started traveling when I was 3 years old, and ever since than I have went on at least one trip every year. Every time I am in the Sea Tac airport it makes me feel good about myself, it reminds me how lucky I am to get to travel this much. It also reminds me how much  I have already seen and how much more I continue to see.  Sea Tac makes me feel important it make me feel like I am doing something with this life I was given and that I am taking advantage of it.

I have traveled to many places, seen many things and sometimes I look past the role the Sea Tac airport plays in it. Every time I get onto a plane I always tell myself I am going to feel different when I get back to this airport. The Sea Tac airport carries many of my milestones. I have flown out of it saying i might come back a national champion, I might come back a Texas Tech cheerleader, I might come back happier, I might come back and have made one of the biggest decisions of my life and so on. Every time I get back to the airport something big has happened to me, good and bad.

When I go to Sea Tac to leave I have expectations of how and who  I am going come back as. I remember coming back sometimes wishing I wasn’t the way I was, or wishing I could go back, or sometimes wishing I wouldn’t have left at all. The Sea Tac airport is more than just a  place that gets me from point A to point B, its a constant remind of what I just did and of what really just happened in my life.

McCasland at The University of Oklahoma, in Norman Oklahoma was built January 13, 1982, its first opening was with a basketball game between The Oklahoma Sooners and The Kansas Jayhawks, which resulted in a Sooner win. McCasland is now a place for athletes such as, volleyball, gymnast and cheerleaders. This is where the volleyball team and the gymnast perform and compete, but this is where cheerleaders practice.

Although, McCasland has been open for many years. I didn’t know of it until I became interested in the University of Oklahoma which was a year and a half ago. I have now spent more time in McCasland than I have in my own house in Washington over this last year. The meaning of McCasland to me is much deeper than just a building apart of my school campus. McCasland carries the root of my journey at OU. I am a current cheerleader for the university of Oklahoma and McCasland, is where I met everyone on the cheer team, it is where this whole journey began for me. I would say McCasland is the first chapter to my college story.

McCasland is where my team and I have put in blood, sweat and tears, to get the opportunity to cheer for the Sooners football, basketball, volleyball and gymnastics teams. However, the biggest experience McCasland carries is the opportunity I had of being apart of the OU national cheerleading team.

During Christmas break myself and 19 other people out of the 42 of us on the team got chosen by our coach Miranda to represent OU and the UCA national cheerleading competition In January. While  everyone else on the team and everyone else on campus went home, we spent at least four hours everyday in McCasland for 35 days straight. Anytime I look at McCasland or walk in there a different memory pops up in my head, bad or good they still make me appreciate how much memory McCasland holds. McCasland is where my story has been written, it is where all the begin the scenes moments happened.

The Aqua tower was built in 2009 in downtown Chicago. It was designed  by Studio Gang Architects with James Loewenberg as the architect on  record. This is a residential building with 82 floors.

When I first saw this building, I thought it was so cool. I had no idea what it was. Later that day, my mom and I went on an architecture river tour. In this tour, I got to know what this building was. After this tour, I have been obsessed with this building.

Flash forward I few years to when I go to an architecture camp over the summer. For one of the projects we had to choose a building we liked and go into depth on the building. This caused me to do lots of research on Aqua. All this research made me love this building even more than I had in the past.