There Are Other Colors Besides Pink?
When choosing my paint swatches, I tried to choose colors that I wouldn’t normally choose. I ended up going with Perfectly Purple and Siesta.
Walking Journal
This was the first paint chip match that I found early on in my walk. This was taken at the corner of Belden and Racine. I almost ran into a dog and their dog walker in order to take this picture. This was a common theme in the later part of my walk, since I am not used to being on my phone and taking such a specific type of photo during my daily walks.
The next object I find is this beautiful flower pot with two types of purple flowers, but one matches my swatch better than the other. I really like the way the owner of the flowers organized and chose a blend of different flowers to make this arrangement. Coincidentally, (or maybe not) my favorite flower within this pot is the one that best matches my paint chip.
Directly next to the house that I found the flower light had an amazing Halloween display where I found lights and plastic bats that matched my chip. I love Halloween and get very excited when I see decorations, especially when they are purple. Sometimes orange being the main color representing Halloween gets boring, so I love when people incorporate purple and black into their displays.
During this walk, I came across this building that I found/ wrote about in my walk for class where I listened to the “Guide to Getting Lost” by Jennie Savage. It was an exciting moment, since I did not know where this building was in relation to my dorm and laughed when I realized that it is on the same street, just a few blocks over!
Next, I see an adorable golden-doodle that matches my other paint chip. Unfortunately, it was a fast walker and I couldn’t get the best picture. In addition to its cuteness, this dog caught my eye because I was a dog sitter for a golden-doodle for two years, named Capri, and hope to continue in the future. This dog reminded me of cuddling with Capri and her soft, fluffy fur.
To conclude my purple paint chip find, I came across a piece of garbage where the corner of the logo matched my purple swatch almost perfectly. I didn’t want to take this picture at first since I am very against littering, but I think it’s important to use opportunities like this to express disapproval of littering (Don’t litter please!). I wish I could have picked up this piece of trash and thrown it out, but unfortunately, it was in an area locked by a gate.
For my final chip match, I found this apartment building. Although they aren’t a perfect match in this image, they looked similar in person and I believe the lighting of the photo altered the accuracy.
Reading Journal
Unfortunately, I have inherited mainly negative attitudes from my family regarding exploring unknown public spaces. These beliefs were instilled in me mainly by my mother, but other people in my life have expressed judgment or disappointment when I share that I often go on walks alone in new places. I understand their fear stemming in me being a young woman, but I refuse to live in fear. Personally, I prefer to take caution during my solo walks, instead of boycotting them all together. It does become discouraging when I am sharing exciting walks and withholding details in fear of being shamed by my family. I try to remind them that I came to the city for a reason with a desire to explore, in a safe manner. In A Walking Life, author Antonia Malchik, explains how “people function best when they interact with their communities, when they feel like they belong,’’ and a simple way to do this is by walking within your community (Malchik 64). I wish there was a way to exemplify this to my family while recognizing that there may be danger in walking in unknown places, there are also risks by not doing so. If I do not walk and explore the community, I will miss out on the feeling of belonging and connection within my neighborhood. (220).
