It is clear to me that my pride in my natural sense of direction has taken a serious beating due to the tasks asked of this course. That said, I feel considerably more accomplished once I have finally reached the location...so I guess that's a win?
Waller Creek on San Jacinto Blvd
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Funnily enough, when reading the prompt I truly had no idea where this thing was. I knew where San Jacinto Blvd was, but I am considerably directionally challenged and was worried I wouldn't be able to stumble across this creek, even with the help of google maps. That said, on my walk I began to adopt this sense of familiarity. I felt (and saw on my iPhone map, ofc) that I was getting closer. The campus life was fading, the frontwards architecture of the buildings seemed to be facing away as though to give me privacy on my exploration.
I soon discovered my whereabouts and abandoned the google maps. Once I reached the creek, I realized that I had, in fact, stumbled across this pretty little area before. Back in the beginning of June, a friend and I had accidentally taken a wrong turn when attempting to track down the location of our lecture hall for one of the orientation seminars. Luckily, based on our hunch that we might need the extra time of navigation as to not be late, we had about twenty minutes to kill. We looked for creatures and admired the seclusion and isolation Waller's Creek brought us.
Returning back to it by myself, I experienced some revelations about myself. Not only was that my true first encounter of a campus treasure, but I got to experience it with a new friend, now of which is one of my best college buddies and I hang with her every day. I also realized that I was not the same person I was then. I was nervous and scared and lost, and had a stifling case of imposter syndrome. But upon my return, and while I sketched the bridge over the creek, I acknowledged my growth and my ability to adapt to my new environment. It truly has been a crazy past few months, but through this course I have learned to appreciate the little things that would normally not even cross my radar. I am grateful to UT and to Austin for making sure to incorporate nature wherever they have space, regardless of being an urban and developing city. It truly makes all the difference.
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