Since moving here from Dallas 3 years ago to attend UT, I have learned to really embrace all that the city of Austin has to offer. I remember when my dad took me on my first UT visit as a junior in high school. He raved about how he went to grad school here, and had a scooter that he took to his classes, and how much of an amazing place Austin is. I was completely overwhelmed by the size of UT (coming from a very small high school), and thought that it, because it was in Texas, it would be way too similar to home. Also, I had only really travelled to Austin for sports tournaments or school related events, so I never saw how different the city is from Dallas. Once I got to explore, I realized it felt like a completely different city, and with all the hills and lakes, it honestly felt like a completely different state. I was thrilled to have a homework assignment that allowed me to explore even more of Austin than what I have already done these past three years, and I am excited to share my experiences with you.

Throughout my first experience, I was able to see more areas of Austin on foot in only two hours than I would ever be able to see by car (especially because we all know how bad Austin traffic is). On February 19, I ran the Austin Half Marathon. This experience was challenging and scary at first, but it ended up being both fun and rewarding. We started the race on Congress Ave. and ended right in front of the Capitol. It was my first half, so I did not really know what to expect besides soreness and fatigue the next day. However, what I really gained out of the whole experience was being able to see parts of the city I have never seen before, and see how great of a community Austin fosters. There were so many friends, family, Austin civilians, and UT organizations that came out to cheer us on, which made the race all the more fun. I also finished in under 2 hours and 30 minutes, so that was personally very rewarding.

My second experience was journeying to the other side of Lake Austin (not where all the paddle boarding is) to watch my brother race in a crew regatta. He is a freshman in high school and recently took up crew as his fall and spring sport. It was so fun for him to be able to come down to Austin to race, and I had so much fun cheering him on. Rowing is definitely a much more intensive sport than I thought, and it takes a lot of upper body strength and teamwork. My brother first raced in a quad boat and then in a double and made it to the semi finals. We were all super proud of him. It was a great way to see the other side of Lake Austin which I have never seen before, and it opened my eyes to the various activities the lake is able to provide for people in the city. 

My third experience actually happened just yesterday. The club that I am a part of on campus, Texas for Expanding Opportunity, hosted its first fundraising event. It was a magic show in Hogg Auditorium. The turnout was amazing, and we raised $14,000 dollars for our club which means that we now have enough money to issue finger print background checks, and will be able to mentor kids at Martin Middle School one on one as opposed to large groups. The event was a huge success, and was also so much fun. The magician is a student here at UT, and he is the real deal, everyone’s minds were blown. He even used a magic trick with SnapChat which was so cool, and something I had never seen before.

It really reminded me that I should be more involved on campus and attend more campus-wide events.

After exploring Austin with my phone, as well as being the media curator for class, I have really grown to realize the impact social media technology has on all aspects of my life. I fully understand that the digital culture has now become the norm. These three events have allowed me to realize that digital culture is also very beneficial to our lives today. If these three experiences were not important to me, or did not mean anything to me, I would not have documented them. The digital culture allows us to make tangible memories of things that have happened in our lives that we enjoyed and want to reminisce on, and I think that is what makes it important. Although the digital culture is almost too imbedded in our daily lives, it has ultimately made us better communicators.