M7: Awe Walk

Our feeling of being in awe has deteriorated as we continue to age. That feeling over wonder and inspiration we once felt as a kid has continued to vanish as we continue to have a self-focused mindset to fixate on our own concerns. As a child, we glanced around our environment in a surprising fashion. Every step in our journey was an opening to a new wave of knowledge and enjoyment, creating the feeling of being in awe. Maybe as we rise in age we feel comfortable enough with our surroundings to where we feel the need to focus more on themselves rather than taking a step back to look at the big picture. This assignment of tapping back into my child sense of wonder to create that feeling of awe allowed me to view the much larger perspective of the life in which I'm living in. My first awe walk brought my to the Abilene zoo and my second took me through the downtown streets of San Antonio during fiesta. Each walk containing their unique differences but both trying to reach the same goal of feeling in awe.

The zoo has never failed to spark my interest and fascination. A place that allows me to escape from my everyday environment so I may view and interact with animals of great diversity. As a child I would get passes each summer to go to the zoo because I couldn't wait to have that awe feeling every time my sight latched on to the unimaginable. The reason I choose the zoo for my first walk was to catch that childlike feeling again, because no matter how old someone is, the sight of animals that are not in our everyday environment is a sight to see. My walk began as soon as I stepped through the gateway to enter the zoo. The cool breeze of the wind sifted off my skin, and light from the sun rise guided my path as I made my way through the zoo. Every step I took, I made sure to look both left and right to contain the full view of the wonderful creatures that were presented before me. Noticing the variety of colors along the birds feathers brightened my eyes. Hearing a parrot copy me after I said "hello", being able to feed a giraffe with just an ordinary piece of lettuce, hearing the roaring sound of a lion that appears directly in front of my face, all examples of moments that I will cherish forever for they left me in awe. After my walk through the zoo had ended, I took a step back to sit down and really take in the beauty the zoo offers. The diversity in wildlife has kept me in awe til this day and will continue to do so throughout my future.

Now for my second walk, I used the downtown streets of San Antonio due to a festival occurring during fiesta. Now I lived in San Antonio pretty much my whole life, but every time I go downtown I always seem to leave in awe based off my experience. Going into this walk, I identified it as a new experience due to me having no prior knowledge to going to this festival in past years. My walk began with the sight of vibrant colors and trees shading my path as I head down the street towards the main entrance of the festival. As I walk into the festival, I notice a variety of cultures among the population present. I see booths of food, art, games, and a variety of other products. I hear live music being performed with songs that are meant to help celebrate the Mexican culture fiesta portrays. Each step I take throughout the streets, I try to capture the beauty and elegance the city I call home presents. Every bite of food, every note that flows between my eardrums, every color that brightens my eye all contribute to the feeling of awe when I finally depart. These two walks really helped me see a larger perspective on the life I'm living as well as a chance to recapture the feeling of awe. No matter if I go to to visit somewhere new or maybe a place that once captured that feeling for me, I will make sure to implement this awe walk method.