Walking Journal #1

PROMPT: Go for a walk in your “neighborhood.” How do you define it? By landmarks? The people within it? Your sense of familiarity and safety? Then ask yourself, what determined your route through your neighborhood? The terrain? The things you encountered? Lastly, what were your impressions?

I grew up living in the town of Folsom, California. In my eighteen years spent there, I moved once: to another, larger house in Folsom, with about a five minute drive between the two. Moving to Reno has been different. No longer am I surrounded by the same people I've grown up with for all my life, nor the familiar coffee shops, favorite stores and streets that I've walked all my life. In Folsom, my “neighborhood” was considerably large: it enveloped the streets I drove to school every morning, the Starbucks I met friends for coffee at, my best friend’s house, and my own house – even extending to the next town over where friends would gather to hang out. My “neighborhood” was defined by the areas I knew and was comfortable in: the places I felt at home.

Living in Reno is a different story. My humble dorm room is the center of my “neighborhood.” I pass familiar people in the common areas of the dorm and feel at home with my roommate. As I venture out of my dorm room, the borders of my neighborhood are clear: to my left is Downtown Reno. The unfamiliarity and hazy feel that haunts the streets form a clear boundary. A curious factor of my neighborhood is that it is ever changing: when walking with my roommate, my neighborhood seems to bulge and stretch; areas that may have seemed unclear before are more open with a friendly face next to me. But, as we’re both newcomers to Reno, this only gets us so far. Surrounded by a group of friends, especially ones familiar with Reno, the edges of my neighborhood stretch even more. The comfort of being with friends lessens the fear of unfamiliar territory, allowing my neighborhood to expand, for the time. But, as I’m alone on this exploration of my neighborhood, my path takes me through the University of Nevada, Reno campus. Directly outside of my dorm is the beautiful Manzanita Lake, providing a relaxing walk to the campus buildings. I wander past countless buildings that I have become accustomed to through my classes, through the rose garden outside of the Thompson building, along the familiar Lincoln Hall, past the Knowledge Center, and up to the Joe Crowley Student Union. This presents me with another boundary. Unfamiliar territory greets me past the Joe, so I walk back down the street through campus, past the Living Learning Community, and by the cafeteria below Argenta Hall, ending my journey back in the comfort of my dorm at Manzanita Hall.

The boundaries of my neighborhood are clear: uncharted territory is off limits. Now, my neighborhood is defined by my comfort with my surroundings and places I know well: the University is the core of my neighborhood, but as I begin to explore more of Reno, my neighborhood will expand into areas that I previously felt were out of reach. For now, my neighborhood remains considerably smaller than the one I grew up in, but every day it grows a bit larger as my comfort with Reno develops.