Suwanee Park is in the shape of an oval, like an island . There are more people taking up the space on the curvy, concrete sidewalks than the wide, luscious, green fields. The sidewalks runs along and cuts through the park. There are also sculptures and art pieces are scattered on the sides of the park, such as the white cutouts of dog silhouettes and a rusty, deformed, metal fragment from one of the twin towers. The fields vary in different sizes, but the biggest one is about half the size of a football field. Each field has at least three trees. There is a stage on one side of the park for events and performances and about 15 wide rows made out of grass. The stage is also entirely made out of concrete, with a black metal roof has 4 black metal bars parallel and mini criss-crosses between to support it. Facing the stage, there is a line of restaurants on the left side of the park just across the street that varies from American and Italian dining and stores for dessert.

The sidewalks allows people to walk their dogs, and ride their bikes, scooters, skateboards. The purpose of the sidewalk running through the park is designed for the people to be able to gaze at the park’s beauty from every angle. The statues and art pieces fills the park with more entertainment and color. People can marvel at them and actually learn a few facts about them since most sculptures has a labeling of it’s name and description about it. The trees in the field allows occupants to sit under them and have a picnic, otherwise they are usually occupied by athletes and man and best friend running around playing sport. The stage is there for events and performances, pairing perfectly with the wide rows of grass for the occupants to lay their blankets or spread their legs while they sit and watch the show. The restaurants are located in a perfect spot to attract people. Even from the park, anyone can see a picture of frozen yogurt that screams “Eat me! I’m delicious!” pasted on the window of Yogli Mogli. The window is similar to the size of our classroom whiteboard. The picture is irresistible for children. A chubby white child babbles, tugs on his caregiver’s shirt and points at the picture, wanting to eat it. And even from afar, anyone can smell the mouthwatering smell of smoked BBQ wafting in the air.

Diversity spreads around the park, everyone from different races and different ethnicities. Most of are never alone. They come in groups of at least 2, family or friends. A pale korean woman with light brown hair that stops at the length of her shoulders looked young enough to pass for a 20 year old is holding a white maltese that was almost the size of a roll of toilet paper, while having her fingers laced with her fiance’s or husband’s–they both had rings and had addressed each other as “honey” in korean. Walking on the sidewalk is a girl with a familiar face. Her stature was tall–about 5’7. Her dark brown hair is no longer in the bun or pushed backed with the headband she always kept. Instead, it is straight, loose, parted in the middle and down past an inch of her shoulders. Her skin is the color of milk chocolate. Her style is now intimidating as she wear a black leather jacket, black jeans and white high top vans, but still make-up free. Her friends walk beside her on both of her sides. Upon observing other groups of occupants, it came to realization that they all had something in common. Almost every single person wore a smile. They were enjoying themselves or the company of others, whether they were strangers or not.

One of the main reasons occupants gathered here was for the community. People can easily bond and interact with other people since this is a family friendly environment, or so says my interviewee, Jean Yang. She comments that this space is occupied with friendly people and that she usually comes to enjoy the park with her family and friends. Suwanee Park is also local, making visitation effortless.

Omar Rulida Abdul-Rahman

Professor Smith

English 1101

10/10/16

Spatial Ethnography Final

Usually in the College of Education all the seats in the room full with individuals as expected in the somewhat dimly lit room. Even though all of the individuals couldn’t be any more different in a number of ways, they were all doing one of three things. Reading something from a book/laptop/phone, talking, or just resting. The College of Education was quiet that day, like my interviewee was stating that she liked about the “COE”. The people still sprawled across the couch made it hard to accommodate other visitors. This was a problem my interviewee mentioned; she wanted the room to be a little bit bigger. After around five minutes though a tall pale chalky man in a brown suit with a white shirt, and a brown diamond shape patterned tie left one of the four turquoise chair that were placed in a square shape around a small square table. The chairs were placed in a way that if you sit straight you can see the other three people sitting in their chairs. Something about today was strange though. Usually the people sitting in the four chairs in a square formation are usually talking to each other, or at least having a light conversation. This time though the people in the four adjacent sides were enamored on whatever they were looking at be it a phone book or a phone. On one side was a mocha colored lady wearing a black sundress. On the opposite side was a man the color of white sand with a black button down, blue jeans, and brown suede shoes on. The girl adjacent to them though on the mocha female’s right, and the sandy man’s left had on white skin tight jeans, a navy blue Tommy Hilfiger shirt, and white shoes on.

Over on the couch though there were considerably more people there than there where in the four chairs, but they were stirring way less than the people in the four chairs. Two out of the six people there had their eyes closed, and were breathing a little too heavy to be conscious. This is reminding me of what my interviewee said about the College of Education being a great place to rest or work. The other three were just sitting around on their electronic devices. One of them a girl with black hair, a gray shirt was trying their best to stay awake, but her eyelids were drifting up and down. After a few more moments of that she just got up, and then walked away.

At around that time though, at about 1:30, with only around fifteen minutes’ left until the observation would be over everyone was rushing to pick up their things, and heading out the door in a wave, well everyone except the people in the cubicles. All three of the glass cubicles had occupants. One was a young lady with shimmery, sparkly, wheat blonde hair. The other man was a man who was about 5’6, wearing an olive green shirt, and weighed around 220lbs. The last cubicle held a young man, and a young lady. The two people were both brunettes. The lady had long hair with a black hoodie, whilst the man was sporting a black leather jacket. They were both sharing a laptop watching either a video or a movie. The people in the glass cubicles who were still fast paying attention to their business. One of them though was paying attention to the information board. The information board is just a flat screen which just shows upcoming events with a royal blue background. It is encased in a plexi-glass box on the wall, with four metallic bolts on the corners. A lady with long black hair, skinny jeans, long black boots, and a black t-shirt was sitting at one of the table on the other side of the room gazing out of the window facing her. Outside was the downtown Atlanta scenery, and cars hurriedly passing by. After a couple of seconds, she snapped out of her daze, and went back to her book.

During the process of sitting, and observing, I interviewed a female student named Tyra. Tyra is a tanish-bronze woman around 5’4, with her brown hair cut into a short bob.  Tyra was explaining to me that she liked the College of Education. The College of Education in her opinion is a nice quiet place to work, and it’s a place where she can see, and meet up with her friends between classes. She had no issues with the place other than the fact that the College of Education isn’t a little bit bigger.

As you approach the enormous brick building you are greeted by security. To go inside the library you have to show your student ID to them. Before entering, every person has to swipe his or her student ID to be let inside. The three machines barricade the entrance, ready to allow anyone with an ID to come inside. Once you’re through security and the machines you are immediately greeted with a wide staircase being used by students. The floor is covered in white tiles that soon transitions into a brownish carpet when you make a left. To the right, there are restrooms and elevators. Elevators providing transportation to the students who seek further depth of the library. As the elevator begins to close, a girl with a blue Georgia state shirt and black Nike shorts rushes to catch the elevator. Her black backpack, which is the size of her entire upper body, gets caught between the double doors. To the left side of the first floor of the library, there is a lounge area with abstract chairs that people can sit on. Once you pass those chairs you find a small coffee shop called Saxby’s in which students come in and out, some with coffee or pastries. Towards the back are u shaped booths occupied by groups of students. These booths are lined up in rows. Behind the booths are various tables available for anyone to sit. Further to the left of the booths are rows of shelves being occupied by books. To the right side of the library, there are more computers and an info desk that takes up most of the area.

The various tables and computers are there to help students throughout their college years. The tables and booths are there for the people who travel in packs. These booths allow students to sit together and study or to work on projects. Sometimes these booths are occupied by one single person as said by a GSU student who goes by the name Malik. Malik said, ” I don’t really like when one single person occupies an entire booth. It becomes an issue when there’s no more booths left and my study group doesn’t know where to sit”. The coffee shop inside the library is there to provide anyone inside the library with drinks and food. Inside the coffee shop are tables that people can sit and enjoy their food while they look over any of their schoolwork. A girl with droopy green eyes sits at one of the tables. She’s sipping at her hot drink that has steam coming out of it. The girl’s chocolate colored hair is up in a messy bun, some loose hairs seem to escape as they fall to the side of her head near her ear. She exhales and slumps down in her chair as she looks over all the notes she has sprawled out on the table. Also inside Saxby’s there is a brown leather couch with a TV that hangs up on the wall in front of it. Here people sit down to converse or watch the TV. A boy with a caramel complexion and big whiskey colored eyes sits on the couch; his elbows rest on his knees while his hands form a fist that allows his chin to rest on. Beside him sits a petite girl whose body is turned towards him. Her hazel eyes go wide as she talks to him; her cheeks soon turn red when the boy looks over to her. The computers and printers located beside the staircase are there for quick and fast access for students. Students who are in a rush to get to class and need something to be printed go straight towards these computers and printers. A tall dark skinned girl runs straight to the computer quickly printing a paper. She swipes her student ID to print. As soon as her hand makes contact with the freshly printed paper, she bolts for the doors. Around twelve the line to get to the printers grows really close to the doors. Malik has also commented on how he wishes there were more printers for everyone on the first floor of the library.

The people who occupy these objects are mostly students. A short boy with caramel skin goes straight to one of the printing sections. He rushes towards the only empty computer left before another student occupies it. His long fingers type away as he tries to print what he needs. Near the coffee shop, a short girl with long brown hair leaves Saxby’s with a cup in her hand. As she walks out she brings the cup to her plump lips, before she drinks it she closes her eyes and inhales the scent. In one of the booths a group of various people occupy the space. Two of them are boys while the other three are girls. One of the boys is dark skinned with brown long hair. The other is a pale short boy with blonde hair. Two of the girls are both brunettes with pale skin. The other is a tan girl with dirty blonde hair. All their eyes crinkle as their laughs fill the quiet library. A girl who sits at a computer across them narrows her eyes at them giving them a mean look. All these students who occupy the library move around like ants. Near the printers, the line seems to get longer over time. One girl, in particular, starts tapping her foot she constantly checking her watch on her left wrist. She groans as she runs her fingers through her long brown hair. Her face soon becomes red as a young boy tries to cut in line.

The library is filled with many a lot of people. It ranges from light skinned people to dark skinned. Some might also be professors, student workers, or just students. All these people who come to the library are there for various reasons. Some students come to refuel their body with caffeine or food that’s available at the coffee shop inside the library. Others come to get away from the chaos that waits outside the library.

           The entrance is surrounded by glass windows that starts from the ground all the way up to ceiling on the second floor along with glass doors as well, and the gym flooring is tiled beige. Welcomed every time by an employee at the small, granite kiosk, most Lifetime employees encourage the members as the enter and leave the gym. As said by the interviewee, Antony Vu enjoys coming to Lifetime because of the bonds he has created there; the employees try to create lasting relationships with the members. The next greeting is from the aroma of protein shakes and breakfast meals because a couple steps to the right from the kiosk is the Lifetime Cafe,which offers various types of drinks and foods as well as gym accessories and equipment. Passing the cafe and staying to the right leads to stairs that take you to the second floor of the gym where the weights are, and the left leads to the locker rooms where you may store your belongings or wash up.

              The second floor in Life Time Fitness consists of carob brown carpet and grey rubber depending on which section the occupants are in. Rubber for the dumbbells, and carpet for the machines.The dumbbell weights start from five pounds reaching to ninety pounds in increments of five. The ends of the dumbbells are black, in the shape of a decagon, and have the weight written in white on them; the metal handle between the actual weight is silver and rigid. All of the dumbbells fill up black racks from small to big in order to support the various sizes of weights. In front of the racks, there are three chairs and three benches that can recline or decline.The framework of the seats are metal and white; they also have ruby red colored cushions about two inches thick. The rest of the setting is filled with machines to work out all the main body parts labeled: abs, shoulders, arms, back, and legs. The machines are all made from Life Fitness with the same framework and cushion as the chairs. The weight adjustment for the machines are controlled by a pin and pulley system which have plates in increments of seven-and-a-half pounds. The ceiling is a white scaffold setup with a popcorn ceiling and rectangle lights.

          A variety of people come to Lifetime Fitness, but there’s a certain standard to lifetime and the members pay a significant amount for it. People with a middle-class financial status or higher occupy most of the memberships here at Lifetime. But physically speaking, the people range in all different sizes depending on how long they’ve been coming here, from fat to skinny, and muscular to scrawny. A man wearing black compressions shorts and a black sleeveless shirt stood out in the crowd. He grunted as the lifted the weights and he towered those around him, because of his greying hair and wrinkling skin; it suggested that the man was middle-aged. Excluding his massive size and build, the amount of workout equipment that he was wearing led to the assumption that he has been a member for a long time. A girl that was tall but very skinny, wore black yoga pants and a pink sports bra to the gym. She was texting on her phone for about thirty minutes and didn’t even touch the machine. The amount of muscle the girl had obviously correlated with the amount of work she put it. This showed that the occupants all view the gym differently; some come to focus and work hard while others come here to relax. The interviewee, Antony Vu, was similar to the man described. Both gentlemen are muscular and have a large build because they workout out daily.

              The occupants come to lifetime for various reasons, but they used the objects for a common goal: to get stronger. The dumbbells and the seats are used to put people in the correct posture for the movement of the exercises as they push against a certain amount of resistance; this area is called the free-weights zone. The machines allow the people to use more resistance than they could with the dumbbells because of the pulley-system that the machines use. The occupants use these objects in order to put stress on their body so that they can gain more strength. These objects control how the occupants interact in the space because there is a certain motion for every exercise and there are different locations to do each of them. Antony Vu comes to lifetime to workout and exercise so that he can become stronger.

When entering Chick-Fil-A the floors pattern a mixture of gray and brown colored tiles.  It’s a hard floor that has evenly placed drains that take up any water on the floor. Glancing upward looking past the white walls full of advertisements of cows and pictures of their food, the ceiling is all gray with bright lights scattered across it. The east and west walls both have large windows the size of paintings with no blinds that let sunlight come through. Outside the window, you can see tables with red umbrellas sticking out from the middle and red and black chairs around them. The restaurant has tables and chairs spread all along the dining area which is south inside the restaurant. The tables have a square shape and each one has a clear vase with pink flowers in it and a mini menu on the table. Two chairs are pushed in across from each other at each table and along the wall are booth like chairs that are attached to the wall and ground. Even farther south is a room called the playroom where kids can play. It has a wooden shoe holder and a large yellow slide that connects to various areas in the play room. In the opposite direction of the playroom the restaurant has marble railings that lead to the counter where you order your food. The counter has cashiers and cash registers. The bathroom is located directly right from this area. Behind the counter, you can see the big light up menu that shows all the restaurants products above all the employees.

Many customers come to Chick Fil A ranging from all different shapes and sizes. Many different customers came in and out at a fast speed. The employees work incredibly quick and welcome every customer by saying “hello welcome to chick-fil-a” individually showing great hospitality. The customers lean and sit and the railings as they wait in line. Kids run under the railing and hang on it like monkeys. The child with the chocolate skin wearing a fitted cap that covers his head completely cries. He has on a yellow collar shirt and navy shorts with black shoes. He begs his mom to let him go in the play room but she adamantly says no. His mom wears a pink tank top and leggings with slides on her feet. She has a dark complexion and her hair is wrapped up in a cloth. She tells him that they have to go straight home after this. His moans echo throughout the store until they leave. A customer named Deondria talks about her experience with the space. She has thick black hair and clear caramel skin. She says that she comes here because she loves the service and the food quality is better than McDonalds. When she walks in she loves the smell of the chicken and when he eats it she loves how the nuggets feels in her mouth.

The kids that go to the playroom take their shoes off and enter through the main tube. They run around and scream in the tubes as they slide down and climb. After reaching the counter, the employees use the registers to ring up the customer’s food. The customers wait on the right side to receive their meals. If it’s dine in it comes on a tray and if it’s carry out it comes in a bag. After receiving their food dine in customers sit in the chairs and eat their meals and carry out customers exit through one of the two exit doors. Customers eat at the table, some alone and some with friends chatting as they dine. Employees approach customers as they eat asking if they need anything and if they’re okay. As customers leave, they clean up their tables and place their trays above the trash can.

Perceptions of Spaces

The Georgia State Library, hold countless numbers of students and staffs. The library only allows students and staffs here. One can tell because there are around two to three security guards outside each exit of the building. These security guards make sure that these students are actual students here, provided if they have their student ID with them. They will also need their student ID to go in the library. The library contains many items. For instance, a renting station, where one can rent out laptops, school supplies, and more. There are also computer stations; they are for students and staff to use. Additionally, the library also contains numerous couches, with different colors, located on the first floor to the sixth floor. This area contains 4 couches to one table. The table is in a marble like design consists on white, black, and gray color schemes. The couches look like a small cube almost box like. The couches are full of colors and designs consist with stripes, red, teal, or black. On the third floor of the library, students are seen almost everywhere, sitting in the tables and chair in front of the elevators, to the teal couches on the middle of the library north and library south, or at the computer stations in front of the elevator in front of  library south. The chairs allow the student to sit down and relax if they deem it necessary. The computer stations provided the students an access to the internet and its online resources for those who might not have a computer at home or those who just wanted to use a computer now. The tables and chairs allow the student to do their homework on, study, eat or even nap on. Overall, these items provided for the students are for their own needs and wants, either if it is going toward their educational needs or not.

The GSU Library contains many occupants and for countless reasons. One girl, who was obviously a student here or else she could not have gotten in. She was five feet tall, had blond hair and blue eyes. She was sitting on one of the teal couch. She was wearing an oversized gray shirt with some black leggings. Her laptop was placed on her folded legs, and she was dancing rapidly with her fingers on her device. Extremely focused on what she was doing, the girl did not even pick up a phone call, which was on silent. Her phone was on top of some blue and black folders, sitting on top of the marble table. The only way to tell that she had a phone call was through her phone screen lighting up. It seems like the couch and table provided a space for her to do work. Additionally, there was another student, who had occupied the library. The student was six-foot tall, with light brown hair and pale skin. He had on a denim jacket, black shirt with matching ripped black jeans. He was sitting on one of the round tables, with textbooks laid out, covering half of the table. He had on headphones and chewed on some chips as he skims through his readings. Slowly the table was filling up with sheets of papers, full of words, that he had jotted down. This area for him must have been for studying since he was jotting down notes from his textbooks. Lastly, another student occupied this space. A 6-foot tall male, with mocha like skin, had pulled the two black couches together so that they face each other. He had on some gray sweats and a blue GSU t-shirt with a black hat. Once the couches faced each other, the student lay on top of them and placed his backpack on his stomach and hat over his face. He stayed in that position for a long time. It seems like the student used this place for catching some sleep.

Sitting at one of the computer desks, Daniela Reyes (or Danny for short) had her face 2 inches away from the screen and the sounds of fingers hitting the keyboard were prominent in the quiet part of the library. Neighboring students would occasionally turn around to look at her, however; most did not seem to notice since they had on some headphones. Danny was barely sitting on the chair anymore because she had lean forward to the computer screen so much that the light from the computer screen had highlighted her dark and prominent eye bags. The more she type, the more she yawns. Continuing to look at Danny, one can see that she had long black hair covered by a black beanie, and she had on a shirt with flower designs with blue jeans. She shared that she thinks the library is a quiet place to concentrate on her work. Furthermore, she added how much she likes that everyone seems to be by him or herself, doing his or her own things. Additionally, she stated that she would visit this space often because it is a sizable space for everyone to mingle together and do whatever they pleased. Lastly, she would recommend this place to all of her friends because it is a good place to get work done.

The occupants here seem to value their education dearly because they would make time to go to the library to study. They are also very determining to get their work done. For instance, instead of studying at the dorm or home, they come to the library because there could be distractions at their dorm or home. Furthermore, this space controls the way students interact with the environment and it teaches people to be on their best behavior and be respectful to others. The library is inviting to every student at Georgia State. One reason why I know this is because; it is located right in the middle of all the campus buildings. It has many resources from; hardcover textbooks to novel books, for students to read and check out. The chairs located everywhere from the first floor to the second floor, allows the student to relax in, while the students study, eat, or sleep in. The stairs and elevator give the student a choice of walking up the stairs or riding up the lift. The computers provided at the library, give students who do not own a laptop the option to do their work on them.

Photography copyright California State University, Stanislaus. Photo by Cary Edmondson

Walking into H&M one of the many stores inside the Mall of Georgia and even before you step foot into the store leaving the carpet of the mall into the hardwood floor of the store you notice the mannequins shining from the spotlights in front of the entrance/exit way, there were three side by side 5ft 5in in height and are in a pose on a plastic white pedestal. There are two double doors to enter at one from the walkway like other stores or from the side where the escalators and stair are located. There are also mannequins are in front of the other entrance/exit, but they’re covered in newspaper not in English all around their bodies. The mannequins on display wear clothing that is sold in store some admire the mannequins on display while others just pass it as if it were not there. The clothing they sold wasn’t just shirts and pants you could also see scarves, makeup, shoes, hats, even backpacks enough to cover every part of skin on your body. Standing in the center of the store looking at one area near the walkway entrance to the left to see on a grey rectangular sharp edge table to see a stack of white V-necks put next to a pile of black V-necks both stacks as tall as a ruler folded neatly, behind it had a rack of nine burgundy and cream jackets and above five black coats, next to the fitting room entrance was a long glass rectangular table of pants of different colors such as black, blue, white all folded and the red pants being the tallest stack with about ten and the jeans only two on the table. Walking around the store many clothes racks that were 5ft tall had a bright red tag on the top with prices under twenty dollars mainly on the shirts and dresses. Those particular sections had more people surrounding it that other sections. One section near the checkout had a hat rack and what looked like a bookshelf of shoes and boots the shirts and jackets that accompanied them had cities and country names printed on the front all in different fonts, sharing the color of the night sky. There was also a small bra section but to prevent any trouble I didn’t enter, but there was a wall of bras ranging colors like black, beige, white, and so on also the lights were dim with a picture of a model from the chest up in a black and white scheme.

There were many people inside the H&M that Sunday afternoon. You can see one group of four females looking at sandals, one carrying a bunch of shirts in one hand, one on their phone, and the other two talking able to hear the from a few feet and you can also see two of males one had a snapback looking at skinny jeans the other who was almost a foot taller looking at a blackish grey dot pattern dress shirt. Towards the back where one wall has a big glass window arc-shaped overlooking the food court few people no taller than the checkout counter glaze at the sight of the crowd many lines and more people than there are chairs. A select few with name tags pinned to their left chests are behind the checkout counter ringing up customers some have small conversations with them, sharing a smile and always having eye contact. When there is no one in line, they talk with each other laughing and the others that are walking around wearing all black or few with clothing that looked like any other person there talk with customers trying to help them and all have walkie-talkies on their person. Inside the store, you don’t notice just one specific race or age group it is all diverse. You look around to see one 5ft girl with black hair alone one by one looking for the shirts and making faces at each one she sees. Two people came in holding hands while one was looking around and picking up clothes the other just walked around H&M staring at their iPhone. No matter where in the store there was always talking and noises echoing from all spots of the store, people had conversations about clothes, kids were running around screaming while the adults yelled loudly at them to calm down, and some people even yelled across the store to tell them about the clothes they saw. There was a smell of food possibly chicken near the doors as it is a floor down and across.

I was able to speak with one of the customers at H&M, and her name was Kristen, a college student, who was out with her college friend. I asked her a few questions about the space. She talked to me about why she likes H&M over other retailers within the mall. She said that most things they sell appeal to her style and are sold at an affordable price; apart from just clothes she likes the scarves, bracelets, and other accessories. She mentions that she has never heard of H&M up until a few years ago and since then hadn’t had one particular place to shop. She said it gave her a reason to go out instead of being at home most of the time just being in her bed and is like a form of exercise to her however when I asked her how it would affect her if H&M were not to exist she would just go to another location. The only thing that she would like to change to make it even better for her was if they had a wider variety of clothes and styles including lowering some prices as she feels it helps out people on a budget such as college students.

Footlocker once more captures the eye with the bright red sign radiating, and the black and white rectangles on the top of the store . The unblemished clear glass displays the store as the luminous light reflects off the illustriously designed shoes and magnificently woven clothes. The tiles shine, and glimmer clear enough to see your own reflection. The shoes and clothing are branded with the symbol of the famed athletes that embody them, and Footlocker separates the two on either sides of the store. This allowed a steady flow of traffic within the store in order to navigate through since, the store was extremely busy. The attractively patterned shoes are stacked on the walls of the store and the customers are able to pick up and examine them.

A customer, who was a women with blonde hair and a skinny frame looks attentively at each shoe and chose a pair and seemed to adore it. She called for a staff member in order to assist her in finding the right size. A bulky man with black large lensed Armani glasses and the distinguished Footlocker tightly fitted black and white shirt comes to her aid. He straightens his glasses, in order to see clearer on the type of shoe. It was a pair of left footed cheetah print Roshi runs. He walks quickly to the back of the store where they keep the stock of the shoes. He comes back and the woman smiles as he shows her a box that had the prominent Nike check on it.

The time goes by and the rush of customers begins to decline. A group of young men, enter the store and seemed thrilled to see what type of new shoes are for sale. One with a black fitted cap, white shirt, and black pants was very interested in the isle with Jordan’s. He waves to his other friends that they pair they were all looking for was over here. They all rush to find their perfect size, but sadly they will not be able to get the shoe. They ask a staff member, with a name tag that said “Eriq” to come help them. Unlike the other employee Eriq walked leisurely as he sees them calling for help. They all shout out their sizes leaving Eriq in dismay. Eriq abruptly asks them to calm down , and tells them “we are out of stock on that pair”. You can see the disappointment in their eyes as he said those words.

Throughout, those that occupy Footlocker haven’t changed as much due to the type of people the store is trying to please. The customers that shop at Footlocker are given a plethora of options, and are in awe of the outstanding style choices. The store does a good job of having deals for those savvy shoppers that truly know what a good deal is. Footlocker implements multiple staff workers that are there in case you need help.  Nate, which was interviewed for about 10 minutes gave very detailed reasoning’s of why he liked Footlocker.  He said the only thing that he would change about the space is the fact that the store is kind of small compared to other shoe stores. He wanted to have a bigger option, but it doesn’t stop him from coming to footlocker since they have the “best options”. Footlocker brings a mixture of urban culture, and athleticism which Nate likes very much. The other stores he says have too similar looks or seem to have a boring layout.

Here I am again. The lights are bright as ever, but this particular space is more empty than usually. The lights are for studying.  The reason why is because it is a Sunday today, and not a school day. I look around and see only two other people outside the study room that are focused on their computer screens.   One of them was a girl in front of me in a dark green booth and she was on Facebook looking at her news feed.  The booth was shaped like a couch with three sides, and she had her legs laid out so that she was more comfy.  The blue and white screen and the Facebook logo let me know that she was on Facebook. She had blonde hair and her shoes were colorful.  She was drinking some coffee, and eating some fruit snacks. The second guy was focused as well and studying for human communications. I saw that he had the orange book that I also had for human communications, so I knew that he was studying for it. He had a vibrant red shirt on that had a nike symbol in the middle of his shirt. He had some nike Roshe runs on that were bright red.  The bookshelves were still on the left side of me. The shelves were black and the books all thick. I looked to the right, and saw the study rooms. Study rooms are for studying and also for friends to just have privacy. There was a group of guys in there studying and writing equations on the board.  All four of them were working on math equations that took up the whole board together. At one point, they all got up and left and went to go buy coffee. The coffee shop was called Saxby’s and just around the corner. I could not see the shop, but they all came back with the cups. As they walked closer and closer, the warm smell of rich coffee filled my nose. The cups were white and brown and the little steams were coming out the little slit of the cap on the cup . I looked behind me, but I only saw empty tables with empty chairs. As I looked up again, I saw that the girl was leaving. However she forgot her headphones. I got up, and I went and gave it to her and told her to be careful next time. We talked for a bit and I decided to interview her. A sense of surprise appeared on her face as I told her about my little interview. She says ok and decides to sit down and let me ask her a few questions.  Her name was Madison. I asked her why she liked coming to the library. With that, she responded immediately and said ” I love the booths, especially on days where no one is here, so that I can have one all to myself.” On this particular, empty, and lonely day, the library booths were perfect for her.

As you walk in through the shiny glass doors of Georgia State’s recreation center for students attending Georgia State, you are instantly hit with the air conditioner blowing into your face. Gray leather couches, black chairs and about five black tables fill the lobby area. The first employee, a skinny female about 5’5 with long hair, brown eyes, dressed in khaki pants, and a grey sweater with Georgia State written on the corner of it in a blue font. The second employee a male about 5’11 with a black buzz cut, brown eyes, also dressed in khaki slacks, and wearing black shoes. Throughout the day, they both work at their brown desk, which is about 30 inches wide, 58 inches high, greeting people as they come in. The glazed marble floors shine as you walk through the building and your reflection appears only when you look down. The high tech steel turnstiles can only be opened if you have a panther card.

The turnstiles open up as people slide their blue panther cards through the card scanner. Before scanning their student cards, students show proof that they are students at Georgia State University by showing their panther card. There’s an employee to the right of the turnstiles, checking students panther cards and answering the occupants questions. Her long brown hair swaying left to right, as she tells a student that he is currently on the second floor. The second floor consists of the game room and the smaller fitness room. The first floor has a larger gym where you can play racket ball in a concealed area with three walls. Students also get there heavy lifting in, with things such as bench press, squats, curls, and dumbbells. The third floor contains the well-structured basketball courts with the blue Georgia State logo consisting of two parts, the university name spelled out, and a graphic flame mark placed firmly on the middle of the floor, and dance studios full of different races coming together as one. African Americans, Caucasians, Chinese people, and Asians are seen as you past different dance studios. The fourth floor barely gets much attention, but is surrounded by a nice size track, and a volleyball court for intramural volleyball/other sports. A student at Georgia State student by the name Jordan Edwards dressed in a long sleeve black Nike dri-fit shirt, and blue shorts said he comes to the recreation four times a week. He came to use the track on the fourth floor to lose weight, and gets his abs back jokingly saying. Also uses the fitness center to run on the treadmill, and use the dumbbells. Days that he isn’t busy, he comes to the recreation center to play basketball on the third floor.

As students walk through the hallway, they notice two elevators; both side by side on the left side of the room, and the stairs straight ahead. The elevator was the best thing for students to get around to the next floor. The ceilings filled with white square looking tiles. There’s a sign with the words game room labeled on it, in a funky font. As students smile with their pearly white teeth, they are filled with exciting things to play such as, ping pong, a normal size green interior pool table with wooden exterior, a foosball table, etc. when you walk into the game room. Across from the game room, the first fitness center appears. A foul – smelling aroma of the fitness room can be smelled as you enter into the fitness room.

The fitness room is occupied by a lot of people/students that come in different shapes, and sizes to use the nice equipment provided by Georgia State. Usually when looking around, students are using the treadmills properly and treating the equipment with care. Caught in the moment a guy of color with wavy hair, dressed in a white Nike dri-fit shirt, and black Nike shorts recognizes how some people wipe off their equipment with alcohol/Lysol after using that specific equipment, so he decides to wipe his treadmill off as well. People coming in this space throughout the day love to work out and stay healthy. There’s a short brown hair girl running on the treadmill. It’s very noticeable from the sweat drenching down her face that she came to the gym to put some extra work in. Throughout the day people and students go in and out of the recreation center building, either to work out in the gym, find fun activities, or even play basketball. The first gym over looks GSU’s gigantic four feet deep pool, which people look through the glass windows while working out. Georgia State recreation welcomes all types of guests, and students to their recreation center but if you don’t have a panther card, there’s a required payment of five dollars.