Purple and Blue… So What Should I Do?
I get out of class at 2:30 and have no clue what I should do. My two colors were light blue and lavender. At first, I was going to stay in Lincoln Park, but then I decided to be a little adventurous and hop on the red line towards 95th. I didn’t know where I was going but when I heard, “Next stop is Grand,” I decided to get off because it was a familiar name.
2:53-As soon as I get off the train, I breathe in the familiar scent of Chicago. I can’t quite pinpoint what that smell is, but its comforting. I look up an see an enormous billboard with both my colors on it. I was pleased because I made the right choice getting off at this stop. The billboard had three giant smiley faces whose eyes were replaced with the words “Love Me.” I thought it was such a coincidence that both my colors were right there in front of me.
3:00- I turn right on N State Street and spot a woman with brown hair, a red cardigan with black pants pushing a stroller what matched my light blue paint chip. The stroller had several bags hanging onto it such as a Disney Store bag and a Burberry bag. I rush over to her; luckily she was waiting to cross the street. I walk up right next to her, so close that I can smell her flowery perfume, and look at her baby, but it was not a baby! It was a small Weiner dog. I couldn’t help but laugh. I think the woman got offended because she gave me a “Don’t look at my dog” look and walked away from me. I quickly grabbed my phone and took a picture of the stroller.
3:05- I decide to take a right in E Ontario Street because I smelled fresh, delicious pizza. Right outside of Uno Pizzeria, there was a bunch of beautiful purple flowers. I was so fascinated by them that I decided to find out what type of plant it was. So I used the app Graden Answers to search it. I discovered that they were Canadian called Viola Canadensis. I learned that they grow best in colder weather, which makes sense because we are in Chicago.
3:10- I continut on E Ontario Street, and come across a big ligth blue sanitation truck. I could hear his engine from a mile away. As I approached it, I was overpowered with a strong aroma of old rotten garbage. The smell was so strng that I was forced to take a right on Michigan Avenue.
3:18- I see a bright light blue flashing light. I immediately run towards it like a child running to the playground. I discover that it is an AT&T store that was extremely modern and hipster. There was an alien figure standing inside the store which creeped me out. He had glowing blue eyes that also matched my light blue color. When I entered the store, I hear a baby screaming his lungs out, I hear a man in a suit talking fast, and I smelled an odd smell. It smelled like a lemon scented cleaning product mixed with old rotting food. I saw a worker who was mopping the floor, so I asked him what that smell was and he told me someone just threw up in the middle of the store. I got so grossed out, so I sprinted out the door and continued my journey.
3:27- As I am leaving the smelly AT&T store I see a young woman wearing the lavender color I saw searching for. So, I chased her down and took a photo. She was wearing black gym shoes with hot pink laces, jean shorts, and a lavender sweater.
3:40- I walk down Michigan Avenue trying to spot one of my two colors. I was having a hard time finding the colors until I see a line of Divvy bikes lined up, which matched my light blue description. I heard a lot of honking as I was trying to cross the street. Many angry drivers were shouting and screaming. I ignored all of them because my mission was to get to those bikes. As I took the picture, a man standing next to me asked me why I was taking a picture of bikes. I explained my assignment to him, and he chuckled and said “good luck.”
3:48- My final stop was right outside Forever 21. I see a bunch of beautiful purple flowers, but different than the ones I saw earlier, so I decided to search what type this one was as well. I learned that they are called Beautyberries. They are a Japanese flower that does well in the sun. Sadly there was no sun out, but they still looked beautiful.
What is a map? How do Krygier & Wood define a map? How is a map related to the world it depicts? Why do we make maps?
Maps can be described as many things and can be defined differently by different people. Personally, a map is where I can map out the places that I have touched and seen myself. It can be an excellent way to track my steps and have an overview of what I accomplished. Krygier and Wood would define a map as a proposition of what is real. They tell you where a person is. They believe that maps cannot capture what is there. It can tell you street names and places, but it can’t tell you plants, animals, names of people who were there. They explain that people are the ones creating the maps, and each map differs from each other. Maps are essential because if we make them correctly, they can be an essential tool in understanding the city we live in. We must create detailed maps that show sensory detail for it to be a useful map. In our maps, we must include everything we saw heard and smelled. This way, our map not only tells us where we went, but what we experienced.
