The fresh air on this road gives you a positive energy. On Piedmont Avenue, there are many cars going in one direction, because this is a one-way three lanes for the vehicles, and there is a sidewalk on both the sides of the road for the people to walk safely. There are many people moving continuously on this road. The roads have been recently maintained. There is now n street. The one-way street is specifically designed to keep the students safe. Many cars are passing continuously and there is heavy traffic  since the road is located on the Georgia State University (GSU) campus. The road is divided into o trash on the road and it is newly painted. The potholes are fixed as well. There is a traffic signal near every corner of the road and the symbol of GSU is painted on the road on all the crosswalks to show the people that this is a school zone. Most people on this road are wearing bags. Because it is cold, some are wearing jackets and sweatshirts.

There are very high buildings with more than 10 floors on the both sides of the road. These buildings include the Citizens Trust Bank building, GSU Student Alumni Center, and GSU dorms: Piedmont Central, University Commons, Piedmont North, and Patton Hall. These are the main buildings on this road. There is also a small park next to the Citizen Trust Bank’s parking deck. There are also other resident buildings but the first two floors of those are used for commercial purposes. Almost all of these buildings have a parking lot and there are some buildings specifically built for parking. This road is a perfect place which has both commercial and residential buildings. You can see the Capital of Georgia and the famous Grady Hospital from this road. There is also one parking deck for Grady Hospital. Next to that is the Piedmont Entrance for that hospital. Atlanta Children’s Health Care is located on this road opposite to Patton Hall.

There is a tree after every 10 feet and street lights are fixed every 20 feet on both the sides of the road. There are also electrical posts after every 30 feet.  The trees are watered every day by the sprinklers which are placed near the bottom of every tree. The trash cans are also kept near all the buildings painted with the GSU symbol, again showing that this is a school zone. This road is always busy. There are many people crossing this road every day. Most of them are students because some are wearing a Panthercard around their neck and some have it in their hands. There are many dorms located on this street. So, many people take this way to their classes.

On this particular day, a group of people was sitting near the Citizens Trust Bank and chatting amongst themselves. They were so loud that I could hear them even when I was 100m away. There was another group near the park. They weren’t making much noise. They were silently smoking. Opposite to them, a couple was romancing.

I stopped a student who was walking along the street and asked if I could interview him. He had brown skin and black hair. He was walking to his class from the Piedmont Central (GSU Dorm) wearing a blue GSU T-shirt, jeans, and blue Nike shoes. He also wore a medium-sized red bookbag. He had a water bottle in his hand with which he drank water after every answer to my question. His name was Bharat and had been studying business at Georgia State University for three years. First, I thanked him for standing for the interview. Then, I started my first question by asking his name. He replied. I asked him why he chose this space. In reply, he said ,“I like the clean environment and the one-way street.” I then asked him what would he change about this space. He looked around for some time and replied that he likes the space as it is and didn’t want to change anything. He uses this way to go to class every day. So, I asked him why would he chose this space over other spaces. With a smile, he said, “I like this space because it’s always busy, clean and maintained properly.” At the end of the interview, I again thanked Bharat for giving me the opportunity to interview him about the space in spite of his busy schedule.

In the end, I understood that all of the occupants of Piedmont Avenue value this space for different reasons.  The people who use it to walk to class value it for different reasons than those who have a business here, but they nevertheless value it.

Entering the doors of the student center, you are immediately filled with nothing but curiosity and wonder. The interior of the main lobby is humongous, as you walk through the door on the immediate right side is a section for students to relax in some gorgeous chairs. The chairs themselves come in all shapes and sizes, not to mention directly in front of the chairs are glass covered desks where you can sit your laptop down and work on homework. Some of the chairs are grey and a light shade of brown, but what most students love about them are that the armrests are so comfortable, many students fall asleep in them. In arm reach of the chairs are white daisies and even huge plants with long green leaves. It’s almost like sitting in a garden. You can even see outside of the center as students pass by sun up till sun down. Sitting in one of the chairs is a light skinned male dressed in a light blue Georgia state hoodie with a large angry panther on the front sipping from his coffee working on his computer. He glances up as a five foot, three inches’ blond female walks by and waves and says,” Hi”. In a chair next to him is a pale brunette female with freckles wrapped up in a small orange blanket asleep. As her white earphones are hanging out of her black and white striped sweater, her phone drops to the floor making a loud thud. She then jumps up and in a quick hurry stretches her skinny noodle-like arms and retrieves it. Just about every day you come across groups of students laughing uncontrollably here. In addition to that, there are tons of vending machines located literally about ten feet from your chair where you don’t have to travel so far to grab a delicious mouthwatering chocolate bar or a crispy bag of barbecue chips. With a wonderful view from the comfortable chairs in the main lobby, you can always spot students passing up and down the stairs, getting on the elevators, and even professors passing through to get a cup of coffee.

One of the best attractions is to have lunch at the courtyard food court located on the third floor of the student center. As a young light skinned male is seen eating out of a plate of spaghetti. Steam begins to rise from his plate, he then scoops up some spaghetti on his fork, bringing it to his mouth. He immediately drops his fork and screams out for help. His light skinned female friend comforts him with some cold water and gently pats his back. She then turns her head and stares at the steam coming off of her scrumptious chicken sandwich. Two tables in front of this duo is a six foot, three inches tall fair skinned male sitting down at a table alone putting in his earphones and beginning to eat his salad filled with a great variety of lettuce and chicken. He lets out a small sigh as he remembers he doesn’t have any crackers for his salad. About ten minutes later a large group of students come rushing in dressed in Georgia state hoodies with large panther paws on the back of their hoodies. As they pass by, some of the students sitting at some of the tables shake their head in disgust. Other students around them begin to frown and move away. As the large group creates more noise, a bulky pale skinned male dressed in a tight red shirt and blue gym shorts passes by them and throws away his trash. One of the students from the group. A six foot, five inches paled male with giant muscles and blue eyes stares at the huge flashing red light sign that says” Chick Fil A”. He then motions the entire group to follow him and proceed to Chick Fil A. With restaurants such as Pasta Mia and Chick Fil A here, Georgia state students love being greeted by employees with warm smiles that creates an intimate and stress free environment after a long day of classes.

Right on the outside of the student center are tons of black benches scattered around a ravishing selection of white daisies. A pale blonde dressed in a red dress with a slit down the center of the back with black bondage boots and with curly hair is seen sitting at one of the benches reading” The Notebook”, the wind slowly pushes up against her face causing her to pull strands of her hair out of her face. Touching the iconic Georgia state panther made of bronze is a group of students. Some of the students are dressed in Georgia state hoodies which on the front in bold white letters it reads” GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS”, followed immediately under it is a medium size portrait of a blue and white panther, while the others are dressed in black shirts and silver and white striped sweaters. The blond female looks up from her book and spots the group moving around like wildfire trying to get the perfect group photo. She lets out a little chuckle and gets up. She approaches them and says, “I’ll take you guys photo”. The whole group says in unison,” Thank you”. All of their faces light like a sky full of fireworks on the fourth of July. Reaching into her pocket the pale blonde with curly hair pulls out her iPhone. The entire group gathers together and smiles for the picture. Once the photo is taken, one of the students from the group asks her to get in one of the photos and her mouth drops to the floor. She bolts to the middle of the group and strikes a pose like a fashion model ready for the next extravagant fashion show. They continue to laugh and talk throughout the evening as the sun goes down and the moonlight makes a return. Outside of the student center, memories and bonds are created that last a lifetime and truly remind students of Georgia state that this is “home”.

As you pass throughout the student center, you will without question make yourself feel at home and get just a taste of what Georgia state has to offer. This is definitely one of the most populates areas on campus and without question allows you to meet new people and change the world around you. With the lively atmosphere found in the student center, it constantly provides students opportunities to explore and transition into college and most of all, leave a legacy.

The sound of fingers typing on the keyboard fills the air. The door is open, allowing you to see all that occupies the space. On the left and right side of the room, there are about 5 MAC computers. They have huge, shiny black screens and a black apple symbol at the bottom of the monitor. In the center of the room, there’s what looks to be a black television hanging on the wall. When looking up, you can see the white ceiling with a rough textured finish. The walls are an off white and the carpet is dark gray with small, green streaks running through it. The room is filled with black swivel chairs where every MAC computer or form of technology is stationed. The rest of the room was open space. Free for the occupants to move around freely without disturbing each other.

The occupants in the room consists of about 7 people. Some were doing math homework, while the others were listening to music on YouTube. One woman with a red curly afro sitting on the right side of the room was typing very fast on her keyboard. She had a brown skin complexion and had cat eyes formed from her makeup. She was occasionally talking to someone on the phone about getting her paper out of the way. Next to her sat a girl with a light skinned complexion and curly black hair pulled into a ponytail. She was clicked through tabs and was swinging back and forth in the black swivel chair. She would occasionally talk but only to ask the girl to the right of her for help. The girl to the right of her was listening to music. She had her white earphones in and her eyes glued to the screen. She wore a white T-shirt and ripped blue jeans. Her hair was twisted into long two strand twists and pulled back in a ponytail. Whenever she was asked a question by the girl next to her, she quickly replied ” I don’t know bro” and went back to what she was doing. There were 2 others girls sitting at the far right on the right side of the room. One was coloring a poster while the other was browsing the web. They were talking about boys at their school and their school in general. However, you can tell they didn’t agree on every thing each other said based on the occasional ” Girl, you trippin’, he is not cute” and the sucking of their teeth.

The chosen interviewee was a girl sitting in The MAC Lab with a brown skin complexion with black and brown twists pulled back in a ponytail. Her name was Luterra Fulks and she was a part-time student at GSU. One of the questions asked was why did she choose to come to this space? With no hesitation, she replied, “I enjoy using the MAC computers.” With the continuation of the interview, she proceeds to say that she likes that she has her own personal space in the MAC Lab. She also likes the fact that the room is so quiet and roomy. However, she wish that the room was even bigger so more people can get more personal space. When asked why does she believe the space is structured like it is, she hesitated for a second. She sat back in her chair and contemplated the answer in deep thought. After a few minutes, she finally replied, “The space is structured this way because different people have different styles of learning. Therefore, different people require different environments to learn in.”

After all observations, it was observed that everyone had a true value of this space and that every object/concept has a specific purpose. The MAC computers served as a way for the occupants to complete their work. The open space served as a way to give the occupants more freedom to move around. The room itself was set up to give people a chance to use high definition technology. Overall, when people visit The MAC Lab, they visit the lab for its value and the objects within the space.

Driving up the narrow mountain road to the resort you pass by the various cabins on each side, their rooftops blanketed with snow, chimneys smoking. At the peak the valley comes into view, for miles out it’s completely white. The only things sticking out are the tops of the pine trees in the distance.  People head down from the packed parking lot toward the main lodge, wrapped in their scarfs and other winter gear, clutching their boards and skis to their bodies in the cold. Some patrons note that “Cataloochee certainly isn’t the largest resort in the area but offers a sort of hometown feel.” A cloud of snow blows through and settles on the front mat when they open the door. Many take a moment to brush the snow off of their coats before getting in line for a lift ticket. Behind the ticket counter are hundreds of boards, skis, and boots of all shapes and sizes stacked on wooden shelfs. People of all ages sit or stand around bright metal benches strapping into their boots and talking to their friends. Others rent one of the bright yellow lockers on the wall to store their things. On the second floor to the right is the cafeteria. There are long wooden picnic style tables lined up in rows, packed to the edges with skiers and snowboarders. Most are eating a slice of pizza and sharing their craziest stories about a line that they hit or a secret spot off the main trail with some amazing powder. Others are looking out of the gigantic windows arranged on the front side of the lodge, watching people come down from the end of their runs slashing powder to slow their speed. One girl wearing a striped blue and green coat sits by the window with a bowl of lucky charms. There’s no milk in the bowl, she picks at the dry cereal and only eats the marshmallows. Her gaze is blank as she concentrates on the slope in an almost trance like state. Those of age are huddled up around the bar in the back, knocking back a few drinks and merrily celebrating the tricks they threw down. A large crowd of people are lined up to fit in the tiny gear shop in the back of the lodge. A large sign on the wall reads “50% off preseason sale” in red cursive letters.

Outside at the base of the chairlifts people congregate in large groups, some standing or laying in the snow, others checking their gear and pointing at the different trails. Riders on the lifts shout down and waive when someone lands a trick. Everyone acknowledges each other and waives back. The trees have been cleared for the lift which provides people with a 360 degree view of the mountain as the lift slowly creaks to the top. A gust of wind blows and shakes the chair a bit, the boy on board wearing an oversized grey North Face coat pulls up his face mask for a little extra warmth. A lot of the teenage riders slide off the lift and head for the terrain park. The park at Cat isn’t very big but has a few well placed rails, boxes, and lips to perform tricks on. A lot of the park riders say that “If a better park was closer such as Beech, or Appalachian Ski Mountain we would go there, but we make it work and have fun here.” People sit on the banks at each side of the run and watch other riders.  This one particular boy was trying to land a backside lip slide on one of the longer rails. He was wearing a blue and brown 686 jacket and overly baggy khaki snow pants that made him look short even though he was average height. He took a lot of hard falls one after the other. for one he landed flat on his chest causing his face to slam into the snow. He looked up and spat a clump of snow out of his mouth, stood up swiftly slapped his board and walked back up to the top of the rail. “This is the one” a rider exclaimed sitting off to the side. As if on cue he leapt in landing hard on the rail, his right foot directly over the rails center his hands out to the side for balance. When he landed it he let out a loud scream and shook his hands above his head in excitement. His friends ran over to him and tackled him into the snow, all laughing and smiling.

At lunch time an event was held for the novice youth snowboarders and skiers. About 10 ski instructors dressed in red Jackets with the Cataloochee logo on the sleeve led the children to the bunny hill to practice turns. An instructor takes off her polarized Oakley goggles and starts to relay instructions. The skin around her eyes is a few shades lighter than the rest of her face and a few other instructors crack some friendly jokes about how much she wears her goggles on the slopes. Parents said that “Since Cataloochee isn’t a huge resort there are smaller crowds and less experienced riders, it’s a good place to bring the kids and introduce them to the sport in a safe way.” The instructors helped the kids steer by holding their shoulders, similar to the technique used to teach someone how to ride a bike. They slid away left and right some losing complete control and lightly falling in a puff of snow. Others got the hang of it pretty quickly and zig zagged in between the others smiling gleefully. A boy in a full set of brown snow overalls and a blue helmet shows off his skill by going faster than all the others. He leans forward and puts his arms behind his back, the blonde hair sticking out from behind his ears flops in the wind as he picks up speed. He doesn’t turn a single time and is down the bunny slope giving high fives to the instructors before the other kids have gotten their balance. When the day was over people flocked back to the main lodge. Many of them stopped on the bottom floor to wring the water out of their clothes, get their things, and hug their friends goodbye. As they started the walk back to their cars fresh snow started to fall. The lights of the lodge shined through the flakes and with the absence of people the mountain was quiet.