1) Why You Chose The Place;
I chose this area for my Connecting With Place assignments because I felt I already had an underlying connection to it. Over the past year, I walked this pathway almost every day on my way to classes, mainly because of where I park my car in the mornings. I use this roundabout and the dirt paths to save time and quickly get to the different buildings around my place. Alongside being very useful during my venture to class, this place is also very visually appealing and well-constructed. I have always enjoyed this part of the TRU campus. Whenever I was there, I knew it was my favourite area of the university. The trees, grassy hills, and walking paths always appealed to me more than other outdoor places on campus. Overall, I chose my place because I felt it was time I started thinking more deeply and realizing the importance of my place, which too often went unnoticed by me. It had already been affecting my everyday life, even if I never stopped to realize it.
2) What You Have Enjoyed About Connecting With It;
Over the past couple of months, I have really enjoyed connecting with my place and am thankful for the time I have spent interacting with it. I have enjoyed being able to take a few minutes out of my busy schedule to relax and complete the assignments. I was able to step back for a moment to realize the beauty and importance of my place. I enjoyed connecting with a place that I consistently walk through on a daily basis. I viewed my place through its perspective, realizing that the gratitude we feel for one another can go both ways. To be honest, at first I was somewhat skeptical about these assignments, but through the process of completing them, I enjoyed it more and more and really felt a strong connection to my place by the end.
3) Which Course Theme/Term Idea You Found Easiest To Connect To It And What That Connection Was;
The course terms and ideas that I found easiest to connect to my chosen place were things like urbanization and diversity. I felt as though this area of the course was the best connection to my place over the semester. The early settlement of land is the reason for all the buildings, the community, and how I am here today. It was the beginning of a large advancement in technology and architecture. Eventually leading to the buildings that surround my place and the sculpted grassy hills between the dirt walking paths. The globalization of the world has brought numerous different cultures and languages to TRU. This relates to my place because it is a common walking area for most students on their way to different classes, these students will have a very high amount of diversity. A mix of different races, genders, ages, and cultures make up the population of Thompson Rivers University. I said in a previous assignment how I would be interested in learning the statistics of the different individuals who walk through my place each day. Out of all of the connections to the course material that I made, I believed that the link to urbanization and diversity was the easiest to connect with.
4) One Thing You Are Grateful To Your Place About;
One thing that I am grateful for about my place is the walking paths and the green grassy areas. I appreciate the round-about and walking trails that allow me to walk around or through the grassy hills in the middle of campus. I use these paths almost every single day on my way to class due to where I park in the morning. I’m grateful that it saves me some extra time and allows me to make it to all my classes on time. I know that others also utilize these paths, as I always see numerous students taking them throughout the day. It also allows me to be outside for a bit in a nice area with the grass and trees between classes. It gives a calming and peaceful walk toward my car on the way home at the end of each day. While taking a few extra minutes at this place during the term, I have grown to appreciate and become even more grateful for the impact it has on my daily life.
5) One Reason That Your Place Might Feel Grateful For You;
A reason why my place will feel grateful for me is that I have taken a good amount of time appreciating and analyzing it every couple of weeks. It should know that out of every possible location on the campus, I decided to choose it to complete this assignment and make it my special place. I knew from the moment we started this project that it would be my place. It should feel grateful that I have recognized the impact it has on my life and the importance it brings to the university. All the moments that I have spent at my place have created a strong connection and appreciation for what it does. I want my place to know that I really enjoyed connecting with it over the past couple of months and that it will continue to be an important part of my TRU experience while I pursue my future years of study. Overall, my place should feel lots of gratitude toward me for deciding that it was the only place I would want to choose for my connecting with place assignments.