Introduction
As this project began, I was unsure of what I wanted it to be. Should I have an overarching story or a clear theme? I knew it would be less exploratory as I had already been here for four years now, so that approach would not make much sense. I wrote a couple of entries before it hit me. What if I used the experience here as a basis on which I write the remaining entries? With that out of the way, it was time to decide just how I would frame my walks. It ended up being a sort of “where I am and where I have been” as some of my entries are about looking back, some in the present, and some looking forward. Many of my entries for this project did not use the prompts that were provided to us in the Walkings Stepbook. While some of the prompts were helpful in giving me ideas, trying to fit my walks and experiences into them left me struggling to write or provide multimodal elements. As I progressed, I found that just taking a picture of what I was seeing that day helped me tremendously in shaping up my entries. The ones I am most proud of are those that were unprompted. A couple times I took a picture on a walk and immediately sat down to write about it. For me, that is very strange as I have historically struggled with writing papers and have never delved into creative writing. I actually enjoyed this though and did not experience the same issues that I do when writing lab reports. Even as I am writing this introduction, it just comes out. I think the Walkings Project has opened me up to writing some and I am glad it was assigned and pushed as something to enjoy. So as you read this, it is an ABCDEary format where each entry is titled a letter of the alphabet. They aren’t in chronological order as I think it conveys how my thoughts jump around as I walk, which can probably be gleaned from the entries. Each entry also adheres to strict 90 word multiples to enforce the thought of doing this on the go.
A is for Animals
Unprompted, Video and text, Wednesday, Nov. 19th
Video 1. A video of a squirrel scurrying up a tree in the rain to meet its friend on a branch. (Original video, Alex Jenkins)
The Virginia Tech campus is home to all kinds of wildlife. The most notable are probably the ducks around Duck Pond, but one can see squirrels anywhere they go. I see these little guys on a daily basis running from tree to tree or just sitting next to the paths with no cares in the world. They must be so used to all of the students passing them by that they are totally unfazed by them now. I sometimes wonder how they perceive us. Probably just creatures that offer food. (90)
B is for Bench
Prompt 2.05 A Good Bench, Photograph and text, Thursday, Oct. 9th
Figure 1. One of the benches in the area behind Johnson Student Center surrounded by fallen leaves. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
A bench in a park is my preferred break during a walk. I got out of class early today and took a walk specifically to visit the benches behind Johnson Student Center. It’s like a miniature wooded area that is beautiful in the fall. As I sit on one of the wooden benches, I look up at the sun shining through the still green maple leaves and look down to see the brown and yellow fallen leaves littering the mulch below my feet. It is a beautiful and peaceful place. (90)
C is for Cars
Unprompted, Photograph and text, Friday, Oct. 10th
Figure 2. A picture of a well cared for white 2-door E30 BMW with Alpina wheels. It is one of my favorite cars I have spotted while walking on campus. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
Though this is a series about walking, I find it hard not to discuss cars when a large portion of the paths we take when walking are along roads. As a car guy I spend my time walking by roads as an opportunity to watch out for interesting vehicles. Virginia Tech has a lot of students, with some awesome cars driving alongside us as we walk. For people interested in cars, their car is a way to express themselves, which is one of the reasons I like them so much. (90)
D is for Desire
Prompt 2.17 Desire Paths, Photograph and text, Friday, Nov. 21st
Figure 3. A desire path leading from Orange Loop to the back entrance of New Classroom Building that gets used very frequently by the patrons of the HWA and HWB busses. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
Something I always wonder when I pass by these desire paths is if they were accounted for when the layout of the building and surrounding sidewalks was thought of. Surely some desire paths have been expected by planners, right? This one in particular puzzles me though. One reason it may not have been expected as a desire path at conception is that it goes right through a divot clearly meant for water drainage as you can see from the large grate to the path’s left. The grass is thinning where people have walked through here, but there isn’t evidence of there being a muddy mess. However, the railing for the ramp in the left side of the image could have easily been extended to meet the corner of the building and block off this path and in my opinion, would probably look nicer. Some desire paths don’t look visually unappealing, like the one that leads to and away from Davidson Hall. The one here is becoming a bigger eyesore, so I wonder if anything will be done about it soon. (180)
E is for Experiences
Prompt 2.02 Shoe Portraits, Shoe Memories, Photograph and text, Thursday, Oct. 30th
Figure 4. My favorite pair of shoes that have lasted me a very lone time, complete with stretched laces! (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
These shoes have carried me a very long way. Having purchased them in high school, they have made it through five long years of walks through the halls of John S. Battle high school in Bristol, VA and many buildings and paths here at Virginia Tech. Our journey extends to other states as well! An industrial paint facility for an internship in Texas, several concerts in Atlanta, Georgia and vacations in Florida. Surprisingly, through all this, they have held up extremely well, better than any other shoes I have owned. (90)
F is for Fall
Unprompted, Audio and text, Thursday, Oct. 16
Audio Track 1. A 9-second recording of the sound of walking through grass covered in leaves. (Original recording, Alex Jenkins)
Walking in the fall is one of the best times to do so in my opinion. The colors on the trees are visually pleasing and the crunch of leaves are satisfying to hear. Everyone likes getting a perfect crunch out of a lone leaf lying on the sidewalk! The temperature finally gets into the high 50’s and low 60’s so you can wear a warm, cozy sweater and feel a cool, crisp breeze on your face as you stroll. It simply feels more peaceful than walking in the summer heat. (90)
G is for Golden
Unprompted, Photograph and text, Friday, Oct. 17
Figure 5. A picture of looking down the road at a beautiful sunset from the outside of McBryde. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
October has had some truly amazing sunsets this year. While walking to the bus stop with some friends from work, I couldn’t help but stop and look at the sunset for a moment. The way the sunlight lights up the clouds in rolling orange and reflects off of the wet concrete is breathtaking. The sight does remind me of my limited time remaining in Blacksburg though. Soon I will graduate and move on to somewhere else. Maybe the sunsets there will be just as vibrant as the ones found here. (90)
H is for How?
Prompt 3.20 Observing Accessibility, Photograph and text, Tuesday, Nov. 18th
Figure 6. An accessible Orange Loop complete with bumps along edges of the sidewalk, ramps to get to buildings, railings and no stairs. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
Lots of accessibility features are present within orange loop, but if you walk down the left side of this image, past the parking garage, then Bishop-Favrao Hall, you end up at two sets of stairs that do not have immediately wheelchair accessible solutions. Someone new to campus would likely ask: “How do you navigate this?” For the first set there is an elevator attached to Derring Hall that can take you up. From there, you would continue to the right side of Johnson Student Center up to Burruss Hall where there are ramps. That means you would have to go all the way there to double back to visit say, the Pyramids. I imagine this area is frustrating to navigate for those who cannot take the stairs. The elevation difference between the Pyramids atop Burchard Hall and the area around Hitt Hall is just too large for an elegant solution. They could redo the area and to to add a system of gradual inclines that lead up so to avoid the random elevator stuck on the outside of Derring Hall. (180)
I is for Insect
Unprompted, Photograph and text, Wednesday, Oct. 15th
Figure 7. A picture of a praying mantis on the side of a bus stop at FoxRidge. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
Finding an interesting bug when outside is always a treat. I had just walked to my bus stop, something I do every day, when I saw this bug. For such a routine, uninteresting walk from my apartment to the bus stop taking no more than 5 minutes, this was an amazing find. I have never seen a praying mantis that wasn’t green and it almost blended in with the darker paint below it. I wonder what it was doing there? Maybe searching for a juicy meal in the roof above? (90)
L is for Lab
Prompt 2.22 Stairs versus Elevator; Audio and text; Friday, Oct. 3rd
Figure 8. An image of one of USLB’s stairwells from the exterior. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
In the Undergraduate Science Lab Building (USLB) I always take the stairs. If I remember correctly, the first time I had class in the building, the elevator door on the first floor was blocked by a cleaning cart. I decided to just take the stairs. For the past year and a half since the blockage, I have done just that. It is actually a good workout, as I visit at least four days a week and climb up four stories. That is 32 stories counting going up and back down! (90)
M is for Memory
Prompt 3.06 Draw a Map by Hand, Illustration and text, Friday, Oct. 31st
Figure 9. A drawing of a map of the path beside the Duck Pond. (Original drawing, Alex Jenkins)
I drew this map of my favorite walk on campus. It was always nice to end my day walking back to my car to go home and getting a nice view. I showed this map to my sister with the disclaimer that I was pretty bad at drawing and was experimenting with using the highlighter tool to draw and it was rated as not that bad. In spending the time to draw this though, it made me reminisce on the kinds of days I’ve had throughout college on my walks. (90)
O is for Overhead
Unprompted, Video and text, Saturday, Nov. 22nd
Video 2. A video of a military aircraft (C17 Cargo?) roaring by as it flies low under a cloudy sky. (Original video, Alex Jenkins)
I had made a commitment earlier on my walks to not miss a single home football game, but unfortunately I could not convince anyone else to attend the one game during Thanksgiving break given our depressing record recently. However, the spectacle of Virginia Tech football games reaches far outside of the stadium. The legendary hype of Enter Sandman penetrates through home TVs and gets living room viewers excited. The flyovers from cool aircraft are not to be missed either. I was headed to my car to go home for the long holiday break and I got to see two of these hulking planes fly just overhead, one after the other. They shook the flimsy walls of my Foxridge apartment as they roared by, no doubt having just made their pass over Lane Stadium. It was almost as if I was being forgiven for skipping a game, with the two planes sending me off. Though a short walk to my car, it was a long drive home as I kept track of the score of the game we were losing badly. (180)
P is for Pyramids
Prompt 3.23 Daily Walk List, Photograph and text, Thursday, Oct. 2nd
Figure 10. An image of one of the four Burchard Hall skylights, known as the pyramids, with a crane in the background. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
My routine consists of a walk from the orange loop bus stop to Owens Hall every afternoon. I typically walk by the other side of Johnson Student Center to get there, but I walked this way to observe the crane for five days. On my daily lists, some of the things I notice that change on this route are the crane’s position and what happens down in the pyramids. Sometimes the crane is moving, but every time I pass by it is facing a different direction and if you peer down into the pyramids, sometimes the blinds are closed and sometimes they are open, allowing you to see into the rooms below. If I continued this route for five more days, my list would incorporate the change in people eating outside of the Student Center, as there is a different crowd every day. I may also notice people skateboarding around the pyramids as I have heard that people do that at night. Now that fall has arrived, the changing leaves will begin standing out with their colors and crunches underfoot. (180)
R is for Reflect
Unprompted, Photograph and text, Thursday, Nov. 6th
Figure 11. Burruss Hall illuminated in Virginia Tech’s colors at night. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
I stopped to take this picture as I was walking back from work close to midnight on a completely bland day. We closed later than usual and I was tired, but I looked up to see this as I was crossing the Drill Field. I have come so far on my journey through college, and on a cold November night I see the “capitol” of the university lit up before me. It seemed kind of poetic and the word reflection popped up in my head, like I was being invited to look back at all of the times I have seen this building before, and how few times I will see it again. My time here at Virginia Tech has had its ups and downs as I imagine is a common experience for many students here and in other places. Looking back though it is crazy to me just how many things I have done here and the people I have met in the same span of time as going though high school. Now, it is about time to find a job and start the next chapter of my life. (180)
S is for Stadium
Prompt 2.08 Sporting Event, Photograph and text, Saturday, Sept. 20th
Figure 12. An image of a Virginia Tech football game at night time from the student section. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
A goal for my final semester is attending every home football game. I used to only go to a select few, but I want to make sure that I don’t miss anything this last season. For my friends and I, a huge amount of walking takes place on game day. We walk from Tech Terrace to the tailgates by the stadium woods, to German Club, maybe some other places, and finally to Lane Stadium. Along the way we smell burgers on the grill, hear laughter and see people having fun. (90)
T is for Trash
Prompt 2.24 A Meditation on Garbage, Photograph and text, Monday Dec. 1st
Figure 13. An empty can of beer lying not too far away from a dumpster that has been abandoned by someone who remained in Blacksburg for Thanksgiving break. (Original photograph, Alex Jenkins)
Ah, the ever present can of beer in the life of a partying college student. This poor can was probably left here when it was dropped by a group going to watch a football game at their friend’s apartment. It is a shame that trash ends up scattered mere feet away from trash receptacles. If any small insects are left roaming around as it gets colder out they may have briefly enjoyed the shelter of the can and its tasty contents before I disposed of it in the correct place. (90)
W is for Wind
Unprompted, Video and text, Wednesday, Oct. 29th
Video 3. A video of a small tree swaying in the wind beside the busy bus loop. (Original video, Alex Jenkins)
The campus is notorious for its windy days. The wind has become a part of my daily routine since the first few weeks of my Freshman year. Needing an extra layer of clothes crossing the wind tunnel that is the Drill Field, or accounting for what it will do to my hair, has always been a consideration while living here. Now, while on walks, I have grown accustomed to watching the trees and bushes sway in the wind as I walk by like they are waving to people that pass. (90)