By Preston Davis

The following entries entail what I believe to be, in my experience, the quintessential Virginia Tech and Blacksburg experience. In this ABCDEary-formatted journal, I have created entries that cover all aspects of my college experience. From leaving class to off-campus adventures, I believe I have managed to cover all that has influenced me since arriving at Virginia Tech for the very first time last year. Multimodal elements bring these entries to life, turning what would otherwise be a diary entry into a first-person perspective of my experiences here.

I have been walking around Virginia Tech and Blacksburg for over a year now, and I feel obligated to comment on the beauty of campus, town, and the surrounding New River Valley region. This place is truly spectacular, somehow combining the natural beauty of the Appalachians with the charm of Downtown Blacksburg and the Neo-Gothic architecture on Virginia Tech’s campus. There is something to be said for being lucky enough to study in a place with pleasing aesthetics as I can easily destress by walking and being able to get lost in admiring my surroundings.

While I have compiled a pretty comprehensive journal of experiences in Blacksburg, I am still looking for more ways to explore and be aware of myself within a grounded space. Walking around and writing these entries has allowed me to gain a deeper sense of place as the prompts outlined in the Stepbook have influenced me to be more conscious of where I am and what I am doing within a place. I have also been inspired to continue making observations of my surroundings to gain a deeper appreciation for them, whether they are on campus or elsewhere in my journey through life. After all, if you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are. (A quote often attributed to Wendell Berry, American novelist)

A is for Architecture Annex: An Architectural Absurdity

3.03 Absurdist Tour; Photograph and Text; Wednesday, Oct. 8

An over 150 year old campus is bound to have some buildings with their own unique quirks that might look great at a glance, but collapses under its own absurdity at even the slightest of scrutiny. Behold, the Architecture Annex. It is now one of the oldest and conceptually confusing buildings on campus. Case in point, this wonderful entrance…  that isn’t an entrance at all. It can be both comedic and beautiful that the idea of a grand entrance has materialized, but there is no door for people to use. (90)

B is for Beats on the Street

Unprompted; Video and Text; Tuesday, Sep. 23

B-b-b-beats on the street! Every Tuesday night!” exclaims a voice after the music stops. A man walks up with a saxophone and starts playing. The jam resumes, playing funky tunes that bring energy to an otherwise slow and quiet night. I had been walking around with some friends when we stumbled upon this impromptu concert, and I just knew I needed to document this somehow. There is something special in stumbling upon a gathering of different characters that are coming together to create. I only wish I stayed there longer. (90)

C is for Creating a More Walkable Downtown

2.33 Campus Reimagined; Illustration and Text; Sunday, Nov. 30

Downtown Blacksburg could benefit from becoming a more pedestrian friendly area, especially as it sees tons of foot traffic on weekends. I propose converting one block to pedestrian only, effectively banning cars on that part of Main Street in favor of giving people more room to roam and socialize safely without vehicle traffic. Currently, the high volume of vehicle traffic can be dangerous if people stumble into the street. There is also a convenience aspect to my plan, as it would also make it easier to cross the street anytime. (90)

D is for Delightful to the Touch: Hokie Stone and Other Campus Textures

3.10 Texture Archive; Photograph and Text; Thursday, Oct. 9

Hokie Stone is one of Virginia Tech’s defining features, as it adorns pretty much every building on campus, both academic and residential. This allows each building to be so diverse as every block of stone is chiseled differently and it is hard for me not to get lost in the topography of the facade. Contrast this intricately textured stone with smooth, curved concrete. While both materials might be gray, the Hokie Stone provides depth and character, while the smooth concrete on the buildings is an elegant and wonderful complimentary feeling. (90)

E is for Expressionist Sky

2.03 Overhead at Time of Day; Illustration and Text; Saturday, Nov. 8

My eyes are almost always looking forwards when I am walking around. Rarely do I actually stop and look up at the sky. However, the sky has such a captivating effect and I find myself getting lost in its features. Catching my eye are the contrails from planes leading across the sky, dispersing the further they get from their makers. Another feature in the sky that always catches my eye? The moon. Despite the daylight, the moon is still bright and bold, a perfect circle stamped into the blue background. (90)

F is for Forestry Fanatic

2.09 Hahn Horticulture Garden; Photograph and Text; Monday, November 3

The Hahn Horticulture Garden is one of the most unique places on campus, and one of my favorites. The Garden has all sorts of flowers and trees in a serene corner of campus. I find it soothing to sit there and be able to think. At night, the trees in the center of the garden are lit up and turn the garden into a glittering sanctuary. One night, I chose to walk there with no other reason than to just find a spot to sit and think in the garden. (90)

G is for Gone Huckin’

2.11 Huckleberry Trail; Photograph and Text; Tuesday, Oct. 7

When I am craving a longer walk, the Huckleberry Trail is the perfect place to do so. Since it starts on campus, I find it as a sort of gateway to our great rural surroundings. As it goes off campus and towards Christiansburg, it goes under US-460. Passing under the highway is like passing through a portal, as the development of campus turns into farmlands with cattle grazing. And it is here where the trail goes up and down, almost like a roller coaster going across fields into the forest. (90)

H is for Hearing Blacksburg

3.09 Sound Archive; Audio and Text; Sunday, Nov. 9

Sometimes we must take our earbuds out while walking, being stimulated only by the sounds of our environment. On my short walk along Otey St and Washington St, I walked through piles of crunchy leaves and the sounds they made were soothing. It was a pretty quiet Sunday afternoon, and as a result of the lower activity, I was able to tune into the birds making their own delightful soundtrack for the outdoors. While I wasn’t listening to music, there was one constant sound that I heard: cars driving by. (90)

I is for Indoor Climbing

2.22 Stairs versus Elevator; Photograph and Text; Friday, Oct 10

Spending lots of time indoors can be seen as detrimental, but the indoors can also be a form of connection and reflection. At my dorm in the Creativity and Innovation District Living Learning Community, indoor space was designed for connection, especially the bright orange staircase in the lobby. I walk down these stairs in the morning after leaving my room, and such a prominent feature in my daily routine is one that I now walk down in the dead of the night. I pause at the top, and jog down. (90)

J is for Just Trashy

2.24 A Meditation on Garbage; Photograph and Text; Friday, Oct. 31

The most common piece of trash that I find on campus are cans(of beer). In a sense, it was refreshing to see some VitaminWater neglected by a thirsty individual. It was mostly full, so at first glance I assumed somebody had dropped it and forgot about it. However, it was far into the grass, so maybe it had been blown quite a distance by the same wind that knocked over the facilities in the background. Unknowingly, the former owner of the beverage has leveraged the environment to propagate pollution. (90)

K is for Kickoff: The Smell of Disappointment

2.08 Sporting Event; Photograph and Text; Saturday, Sep. 6

Beer. Like a punch to the face, alcohol overwhelmed my sense of smell walking in the crowd up to the student section at Lane Stadium for the first home game of the season. It was a night game, and energy was through the roof. ‘Enter Sandman’ and we have a good first quarter, and I go to the concourse to find myself a turkey leg. I finally get one, and the smell of it was smoky and so incredibly mouth-watering that it almost makes up for the second half disappointment. (90)

L is for Literally 1984: Observing the Observers

3.15 Camera Awareness; Photograph and Text; Thursday, Nov. 20

In today’s world, cameras are everywhere and privacy is a luxury. Cameras can exist for any number of reasons, whether good or bad. Cameras help keep our public spaces safe by recording incidents or they can be used to surveil and track people. As I was walking to 7-Eleven one evening, I noticed this rather extensive camera array on the side of a building. Seeing almost 10 cameras (there were more on the other side) had me wondering what prompted the need for so many. Perhaps traffic reasons? Or security? (90)

M is for Memories of a Long Hike

2.02 Shoe Portraits, Shoe Memories; Photograph and Text; Monday, Dec. 1

My boots have lasted me a long time. I’ve worn them across dirt, leaves, streams, and even a bog. In high school, they accompanied me throughout many hikes. In college, they have allowed me to comfortably hike through the many stunning trails in this region. My boots quickly became my favorite on one particular hike along a short portion of the Appalachian Trail, when we were hiking on wet ground after a night of rain. Everyone else was complaining, but my feet were completely dry and not sore at all. (90)

N is for No Ducks Given

2.19 Duck Pond; Photograph and Text; Thursday, Oct. 30

The Duck Pond is well known for its namesake waterfowl, ducks. But geese are also abundant here. The geese have an air of authority around them. As I walk down the path on an incredibly windy day, I see a goose in my way. It stands on the bridge, almost as if it is guarding it. We stare at each other. The goose eventually wins the game of chicken and I back off, going the other way. A group of cadets comes running after me. The goose is leading them. (90)

O is for Overheard in D2

2.04 Overheard, Less Context; Audio and Text; Thursday, Nov. 20

Dining halls are some of the best places to have conversations, as well as some of the best places to eavesdrop on some rather interesting topics. I usually don’t visit D2 for lunch, but I decided to go with the intent of getting a sense of what other people are thinking. It was hard to decipher the conversation in the recording as they were being pretty vague about things. Some numbers were being thrown around and “Y’know what I’m saying?” was a pretty frequent phrase. Perhaps they were speaking business. (90)

P is for Preferred Vertical Transportation

2.22 Stairs versus Elevator; Photograph and Text; Saturday, Nov. 29

Everyday, I take the elevators up and down to get to my room on the sixth floor and back. The convenience of not having to walk up five flights of stairs is incredible and it is hard to imagine a life where I only use the exit stairwells to navigate the verticality of my dorm. While I do prefer the elevator, I’ve on some occasions used the exit stairwells. The experience is very different between the two. While the stairs take more effort, they are also open and less claustrophobic. (90)

Q is for Questioning Signage

2.14 Signage; Photograph and Text; Monday, Nov. 17

Something that I see every single day on my way to class are these signs with building names. I’ve never been able to stop and appreciate them in my rush to class. The sign in the photo I took is the smaller variation, but it still has all of the same design elements as the regular sized signs. I enjoy the uniformity of the signs, and the maroon band on the bottom provides a nice contrast between the grey of both the sign and the Hokie Stone on each building. (90)

R is for Romanticizing Routine

3.27 Epic Walking Story; Video and Text; Monday, Dec 1

The time is 2:15. The lecture hall fills up with sounds of 50 students all packing and rushing straight for the door. ZIIIIP. My backpack is shut now, and I race out of my seat to the door. The door is closing. I am far. I make a leap… and manage to catch it before it fully slams shut on me. I breathe a sigh of relief. Finally out of the building, and now onto my next trial: navigating the swarm of people so I relax in my room. (90)

S is for Straight Line Trekkin’

2.17 Desire Paths; Video and Text; Friday, Oct. 31

People want to go places. They want to go places quickly. Perhaps efficiently, even. This means taking the straightest, quickest, most efficient route to where they want to go, even if it means going onto the beaten path. Desire paths are made when we want to go someplace, and often, it is through grass and landscaping. Many people wanting to go to the same someplace wear down the Earth and create these beaten paths. The desire path I chose is one I use often to go to class. It’s efficient. (90)

T is for Tech after Dark

3.05 Drawn and Repelled; Photograph and Text; Tuesday, Sept. 30

The campus of Virginia Tech after dark is a peculiar one, full of interesting characters populating the liminal space of the night. On this night’s walk, I started at the Orange Loop, far into the Academic Region of campus. During the day, students hustling to class. At night, empty paths and liminal space. As I crossed the Drillfield, I noticed a car driving in circles around it. The driver? Blasting “Careless Whisper”. Outside DX, I watch a very stoned individual recording the answer to life. Oddballs revel when night falls. (90)

U is for Under the Sheets to On the Seat

2.32 Shortest Walk; Photograph and Text; Monday, Oct. 27

I wake up. The room is cold. But I must rise. Yawn. I rub my eyes. Awake before alarm, somehow. Thud. I’m out of bed. My roommate is gone. He is in class. I slide into Crocs. Where’s my bag? On the wall. I grab it, gracefully. Time for a trek! I open the door. Blinding lights hit me. “Wow.” I say. “It’s bright as hell.” I reluctantly trod onwards. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. I’m in the bathroom. Faucet, on. Brushing my teeth. (90)

V is for Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: Alumni Mall

2.15 Alumni Mall; Photograph and Text; Sunday, Sep. 14

Alumni Mall is arguably one of the best postcard locations on campus. It is lined with trees; it is flanked by Squires, Upper Quad, and the Center for the Arts; and framing it is Torgerson Bridge and the War Memorial Pylons. I believe that it earns the label of “mall” because it is a center point between town and campus. It hosts events such as the International Fair, and the large, grassy median could be considered a large lawn. A mall should be a large, grand area where things happen. (90)

W is for What Every First-Year Should Experience

2.34 Directions for a First-year Student; Photograph and Text, Monday, Oct. 13

For the Future Virginia Tech Student: Navigating college can be intimidating, with new experiences and people around every corner. One of the best ways to experience all that this campus has to offer is to just go to events. Some of my favorite things I went to I didn’t think I would enjoy until I went. There are two events that I think are integral to the college experience: A performance at the Center for the Arts, and any home sporting event (football, basketball, wrestling, or soccer are all amazing). (90)

X is for Xanax Alternatives: Nature and Sky

2.03 Overhead at Time of Day; Photograph and Text; Saturday, Oct. 18

The weekend of fall break, I went camping somewhere in the mountains near Draper, VA. I go walking around the campsite in the evening. As I walk around, I stop to notice the sunset in the sky. The colors of the sunset were mesmerizing. I could feel my body relaxing as I got lost in the vibrant hues. It was meditative, almost to a tranquillizing effect. It was like taking some xannies.¹ I could feel the world falling into the background and all the anxiety attached to it going away. (90)

1. Disclaimer: I do not condone the recreational use of prescription drugs in any form. ↩︎

Y is for You’re Benched!

2.05 A Good Bad Bench; Photograph and Text, Wednesday, Nov. 12

A bench has three criteria that I believe makes it the perfect bench. First, it should be comfortable to sit on for a while. Second, it should have some sort of backing so people can lay back. Third, it should be in a suitable location. The leaning bar in the above image fails so spectacularly at these tests and is such a pathetic excuse for seating that there isn’t reasonable justification for its existence. It doesn’t make sense having these when more real benches are needed in the transit loops. (90)

Z is for Zipping By: Walking on the Train

3.27 Epic Walking Story; Photograph and Text; Friday, Oct. 10

There is something special about being on a full train with hundreds of other people. Everyone is crammed into the same long tin can speeding through the countryside, and it’s a unique experience as there are people from all different walks of life all listening to the same distorted announcements from the conductor, feeling the same bumps in the tracks, and smelling the same air being pumped out of the train car’s vents. The cafe car builds camaraderie with families being brought together, or there is the sleepy solo traveler. (90)