I absolutely loved this class for three reasons: we got to travel, I was pushed to the edge of my comfort zone, and I learned that anything can be your textbook if you look hard enough.

The first is easy to explain; who does not love traveling? As explained in my culminating paper, Atlanta is a city I had never been to before but was excited to explore. My sister had been there on some orchestra trip or another and told me all about the touristy things that they did, but I was much more interested in looking at it with a different lens.

Comfort zones are funny things. I thought wandering around a city I had never been to without the use of my phone would be anxiety-inducing, but I found myself to be surprisingly comfortable and curious as we walked down block after block. I was definitely pushed to the edge of my comfort zone at first, but soon found that my comfort zone was actually larger than I had originally thought.

Lastly, the whole core of City as Text. I love this concept so much I even did a presentation on it. You can learn things from your surroundings, whether they be buildings or streets or people or plaques. All you have to do is look and you will learn.