Just Keep Swimming

Featured above a video I made that wraps up the last swimming season of my life (watch in HD). 

I started swimming when I was four. At the beginning, I was so scared of the water that I would nag my parents not to bring me to practices. When I finally overcame my fear and started to enjoy swimming, I was told by my doctor that my skin was allergic to the chlorine and that I should stop swimming. He told me that I was not a fish, so I didn't have to swim. 

With those obstacles, not to mention the abnormal constant cramps I have (I always think my body was never built for sports), I'm actually pretty proud of how far I've come. This season was the peak of my swimming career, with a bounded team, my 50 free time (26.59 yay!) and two school relay records broken.

Swimming has taught me persistence and given me the unique swimmer spirit.  It's a part of me that I know I'll never lose. As much as I still want to go through the sometimes painful trainings and the pumped up meets again, all good things must come to an end. And in the words of my super poetic friend, "it has been a journey, creating broad shoulders, large thighs, and bulky muscles, but it is time to go."

The People Project

Library

Dining Hall 

I've started The People Project for about two weeks now, and the result turned out much different that I thought what it would be. For one, my person, made with tape, is extremely fragile, keeps falling apart, and needs constant attention and care. On a better note, people in my community are noticing its interactions with various architectures. In turn, they start to interact with my person at the dining hall, talking to her and dressing her up with a bib. I guess, in a way, she is a symbolistic company and can make people feel less alone.

Currently on a hunt for her next location!

Mini Maker Faire

Yesterday's sunny fall weather was perfect for the Mini Maker Faire held at my school. We had about 50 booths that featured their innovations ranging from slow motion cameras,  Tesla Coil, to glowing duct tape wallets, jewelries, hand-made violins, and soaps (plus a bunny!). I enjoyed taking pictures and seeing how every single booth is unique in its own way. The people were inspiring in a way that they showed me how I can basically create art out of any material and form. One of my favorites was the 3D printer. It could make solid objects of virtually any structure and did so by using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes. It's weird thinking how the 3D printer might start an industrial revolution and that in a couple of decades, Architecture students no longer have to build their own models.