One of my favorite shows is Saturday Night Live. In between the sketches, an image is displayed and is referred to as a “bumper”. These are images of the host and/or musical guest and are playful and colorful. During this time of quarantine, I have decided to make myself more marketable by polishing my skills in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator and make one of these bumpers for myself. There was a lot that went into it. Firstly, I had to experiment with photography and use many different positions and lighting effects. In the design process, I had to make many small decisions that greatly affected the final project, making me aware that no decision is unimportant in a project. These skills are transferable to my designs in the future in architecture school.

The image above is a drawing I presented during my first final review in the architecture program for a project that was of my design. This final review was especially scary for me considering, the mid review (a presentation of an idea rather than a completed project) did not go particularly well. Still, I made the choice to continue on and refine my idea. However, when the day finally came in the Knowlton School of Architecture, I was scared the the jury would see the original idea and not like it and think it was underdeveloped. To my surprise, they enjoyed it and did have a lot of good things to say. This review was transformational in that I now could realize that I have the ability to be confident in myself and develop any idea into something great no matter the opinion of others.

My friend Sarah and I continued our exploration of German Village just south of Columbus. After a quick bus ride, we stopped at Katzinger’s Deli. While traveling to our next location, The Book Loft, we noticed the fascinating styles of the modern homes and how they kept the German Village vibe but with a modern flare. After perusing through the Book Loft, we walked through the large Schiller Park and to Schmidt’s Sausage Haus. During our travels, we discovered a small candy shop with all our favorite sweets. Sarah and I promised we would return here before Christmas to return home with all our favorite sweets. Finally, our last two stops were Thurman Cafe and the Scioto Audubon Metro Park. I had explored German Village once before with a few other students in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and City and Regional Planning Scholars for the FOTOShop Vignette Project, so I had a faint idea of where I was going, but we still ended up getting lost a few times.

Sarah had never been anywhere past the Short North and thought it was amazing how much there was to do outside of campus and the Short North. I learned that Columbus has so much to offer and that I probably won’t even come close to experiencing it all. While this is slightly depressing, it motivates me to experience it as much as I can during my time on campus, especially when I have free transportation on the bus system. My Scholars mentor gave me great advice to remember that I am here for an education but I also should be here for an experience and these experiences I am having greatly contribute to my health and success.

If someone else was looking to explore German Village, I would recommend to go into every public shop, restaurant, or building they could. The exteriors of all the places in German Village are similar, but their interiors make every single place unique and exciting to explore. The Book Loft literally touches Stauf’s Coffee Shop, but the environment on the inside of these places is completely different. The coffee shop’s industrial vibe and decorations are different than the Book Loft’s crowdedness and classic decorations.Additionally, I would recommend to others that they should explore the residential streets and see how the homes vary in modern and more older styles. German Village also utilizes landscape very uniquely in ways that I never would have imagined.

German Village is one of a few villages around Columbus. I had never heard of Hungarian Village until a few days ago, and I have heard of Italian Village and I am now interested in going since experiencing everything in German Village. Additionally, I am not familiar at all with downtown Columbus, so I may try some experiences in the downtown list. Other Scholars have said good things about it, and I am excited to explore. This assignment has been great for establishing familiarity with Columbus and its surrounding areas, and I am glad I now know of experiences I can have all around Columbus.

https://spark.adobe.com/page/znyPOgGKDmPbD/

[Artifacts are the items you consider to be representative of your academic interests and achievements. For each entry, include both an artifact and a detailed annotation.  An annotation includes both a description of the artifact and a reflection on why it is important to you, what you learned, and what it means for your next steps.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]