1) Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium: The heart and sole our of campus for me is this stadium. Also known as the “Palace on the Prairie” the stadium can be filled with over 80,000 loud cheering fans. Since my freshman year year, I haven’t missed a home game and will always be looking forward to OU’s next home game, and will never forget watching Adrian Peterson score touchdowns here when i was a kid with my dad. This stadium does a great job amplifying the crowd noises together,  nothing seems to be more loud then a nice “Boomer”—“Sooner” Chant on a third down.

This summer, my family and I decided to visit Elvis’ home, known as Graceland. Although the house had already been constructed when Elvis purchased it, his additions and design has made Graceland shine from the exterior and interior. As someone who grew up admiring Elvis and his music, being able to experience his house was an important moment for me. Graceland was purchased as a way for Elvis’ family to have the big home they deserved and a way for him to experience a normal family life with his wife and daughter. Although the decor is rather extravagant and expensive, walking through and seeing pictures of him and his family living in the rooms as normal people gave a surreal experience. In Graceland, Elvis was just a regular guy, not a Rock-star, and it felt that way walking through. I’ve included three pictures, one of the exterior, the living room, and my personal favorite room in the house. This room is known as the ‘TV Room’ and what made it my favorite is because the entire ceiling, and some of the wall, is covered in mirrors. Overall, I enjoyed being able to experience his house and learning more about his family life and I think it offers the opportunity to remember how human he really was.

This is a photo of the BOK Center in Downtown Tulsa. I think that this building is pretty unique. I do however believe that this building is almost a modern take on the Colosseum. This is an arena and has circular seating facing the center where people can watch people perform or play sports. I think the circular design shows that influence, and the full glass side is like the modern take of the windows on the Colosseum. The aspects that create that modern feel are not only that side window but also the smooth metal outer wall as well as even the asymmetrical design of the whole building. I think this building was a pretty neat addition to Tulsa.

This is a photo of the Boathouse at The Gathering Place in Tulsa.  I went there recently and was surprised by the amount of infrastructure that was put up there in such a short amount of time. I think the buildings they have put in place are very interesting and are definitely made to look unique. I think they have a very modern take and the buildings themselves are artistic in nature. If you look at the roof of the boathouse in this picture you can see a little bit of the artistic design that went into it. On this same building on the opposite side, it also seemed as though this building was made almost like a fish scale pattern out of sheet metal, and I think the exploration of all those different textures was very intriguing.

This is a photo of the Fine Arts Center at OU. I have spent the past 3 years in this building so I have a lot of positive and negative feelings about it. To start with the negative sides of this, I think this building is quite bland. The building is basically a giant box and the most interesting side of it is the front which is shown in the picture. Also, the only windows in this entire building are only in the front entrance which is not enough to create natural light anywhere near the classrooms and I think sets a really dark and depressing tone for the students inside. Lastly, there are tiny letters that say “fine arts center” however they are all hidden by bushes because it is too close to the ground. Now with the positive things, I think the entrance you walk into is actually quite lovely. The front wall is a giant window that is about 3 stories tall and makes for a very open and bright front room. The landscaping in the front is also pretty and there is a fountain in the front that is water flowing over a sphere and I always thought it was interesting. All in all I have very mixed feelings about this building.

This is a photo of the Canal Walk Shopping Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. I have gone there a few years ago and this was a building that I found very interesting. This is one of the biggest shopping malls in the country and has some of the most expensive world wide brands and has a very beautiful view next to the water. Although I think the building has very pretty aspects, I do think that this building is confused on what style it wants to be. I can see very many influences but I can’t seem to find one definite path. There are arched windows with squared off windows and different styles of trim and domes mixed with squared off pillars. Although these styles do look beautiful independently I do think the designer of this building did not have a clear idea of what style they wanted to go with.

I visited Warwick Castle in the summer of 2017. It was astonishing, towering walls with a large courtyard in the middle. Walking through the castle, there were mannequins set up simulating what life would have been like in the castle. Going up to the top of the walls, you could see for miles out in the English countryside. Being able to see this amazing stonework was a fantastic experience.

In 2015 I visited Alcatraz Island. I was very fascinated by its history. On the tour, I got to see all of the different areas of the prison and learn about what happened there. The building itself was very run down as you would expect, but it was easy to imagine what went on there as you stood within the walls. Overall this was a very interesting and eye-opening experience for me.

I visited Notre Dame during the summer of 2017. It was fantastic, I loved the stained glass that adorned the walls. Walking around, you could really feel the history of the place. The fire was a tragedy, but I am glad that I was able to visit Notre Dame before it happened. I will cherish that memory forever!

On a high school trip, I got to tour this beautiful building with my class. From admiring “The Guardian”, to looking at the beautiful dome that it sits upon, I loved exploring this building with my friends. I most enjoyed the stained glass panels and the art portraying Oklahoma history and legendary figures.