In high school I loved the experience of playing violin with the school orchestra. Every year, we would take a trip to a different city and compete at a competition. For the trip of my Junior year we had the opportunity to visit Chicago and also hear one of the best symphony’s in the world, the CSO. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays at the Symphony Center which has a huge performance hall. It was amazing to see how large it was and the design of the building inside. It is a fun experience to get dressed up and see so many other people dressed nicely to come enjoy the symphony. It is an experience I highly recommend. It is amazing to me how the sound fills the space and you can hear such a seemingly small instrument from so far away (we were seated high up in the hall). I also would have never guessed that such a huge performance hall fit so perfectly inside of a building that didn’t look big enough to from the outside. You would have no idea that it was there just passing by.

The Carson Engineering Center is the place where I had my very first class at OU. I can remember me and my mom walking on orientation day from near the dorm areas to this building and thinking about how I was going to walk all that way 3 times a week. I learned that it’s not so bad but I still chose to drive to a parking lot on Jenkins and walk from there which was closer. The interesting thing is that the course I had in this building was not an engineering course but rather Comp 1. I did enjoy the class so I don’t have bad memories or a bad experience coming to this building every MWF, but I guess I am reminded a little bit of the freshmen nerves that you experience going to your first class and trying to make sure you’ve arrived at the right place and on time. Also, I used to rush from this building to my car to drive to the Westheimer airport for flying so coming to this building made for an interesting freshmen experience.

For many pilots, they dream of flying into their home airport. This airport holds a special place in their heart because it is probably the airport where they had their first flight. For me, that airport is Tulsa International. As an aviation enthusiast myself and pilot, I always loved flying out of this airport. When I was little, I can remember being so excited to go to the airport and see all the hustle and bustle before boarding the plane. This is my favorite airport also because of its simplicity, it is easy to get in and out of and only has one main terminal. Upon exiting security you can see both sides of the terminal and the aircraft that are there through large glass windows. The airport hasn’t seen many major additions or changes in a long time I believe but it still feels modern inside.

The Memphis Pyramid in Memphis is a really cool building I like to see when driving through. The pyramid gives me an image of what the great pyramid might look like. The pyramid’s interior is also very cool. Inside is a bass pro shop and serves as a place for restaurants and a hotel. I liked the building too because it reminds me of vacations where we would stop in Memphis wherever we were going.

I have gone to the American Airlines center in Dallas so many times and each encounter seems to be more enjoyable than the last. Me and my family have been going to Mavericks games for as long as I can remember. I basically was there once a week it seemed at least while I was growing up. On top of just Mavs games, I have also been to a Stars hockey game as well as a concert. There is a lot that goes on at the American Airlines center and I hope to continue going there as much as I (safely) can in the future.

The Star in Frisco was a huge deal for anyone in my school district, they partnered together to build this arena for the Cowboys to practice in and for the High School players to have games in. It was super cool getting to go here for my High School football games, it brought me closer together with a lot of friends and was just an overall really cool building to be in. It has all of the latest technology and features many different physical fitness centers so you can go there to play just about anything you want too. When I first got to see it I was shocked by how huge the whole place was. I felt like I was at an NFl game instead of a High School game. Overall the whole area is very nice and there are tons of restaurants and shops all around the area as well.

The Stonebriar mall in Frisco was a place where I spent a lot of my childhood. Whether it be from shopping or eating with my parents to hanging out with my friends and watching a movie I was there quite often. I remember when I first went there the glass roof in the cafeteria shocked me and I always thought it was a nice little touch adding in all that visibility even though you’re in the middle of a giant building. Going to the mall always brought me feelings of joy, I loved to buy new shoes and there were also some really good restaurants inside. It is a place that many people visit daily and is essential to the city. I usually go back every so often to shop and I plan to continue for a long time.

When I was about eight years old I started playing baseball and I eventually became close with my team so we would all go out for ice cream after our games. I remember the first time we went I was shocked by the oddly colored and shaped building. As soon as I got inside the garage door walls immediately caught my attention, the buildings walls in the front were all garage doors that were fully functional. So whenever we had a game and it was cold outside or bad weather, they would have the doors down and vice versa for the hot Texas summer days. The building soon came to represent an icon in our town and it was cherished by many. Sadly they had to relocate the building a few years ago and eventually closed down all business. Nonetheless it was great while it lasted and will be remembered by many people for its good ice cream and crazy looking building. 

The first building that comes to mind is the Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium or otherwise known as Jerry’s World. I have had the privilege of going to this stadium twice now. One was for one of Dallas’s pre-season games against the Raiders and the other time was when OU played Nebraska in the last Big 12 championship game back in 2010. The structure itself is absolutely massive and I was in awe both times I have gone to it.

The second building is a building here on campus known as Gould Hall which is the architecture building. This building has always held a place in my heart because I started out as an Architecture major but have since then switched to Architectural engineering. If it wasn’t for architecture, then I probably wouldn’t be here at OU in the first place so that’s why it holds a place in my heart. I would also come and chill in the lobby area while I was waiting for the shuttles to Lloyd Noble as it felt more welcoming than other buildings on campus to me.

The third building is also another building here on campus known as Devon Hall. The reason why this building sticks out to me is because of how many hours I have spent here studying and doing homework or projects for courses during my time at OU. That has changed due to COVID unfortunately as I opt to study from my apartment now. I really enjoy the layout of the building and all the windows in the study rooms. Looking out over campus and seeing the football stadium serves as a nice change when you’re stuck studying for hours on end.

The fourth building is the BOK Center located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I always thought this building had a very unique design and is pretty large for an event center also. This was where I saw my first concert back in 2008, I believe. It was for my favorite band of all time, Metallica. That concert it still my favorite concert I have been to. I also watched Nitro Circus perform here with all of their dirt bike stunts and such. TOOL came here a year or so ago but I had to miss it unfortunately.