There is a map of West Village that I drew on Bristol, and the route I took is in the thick black line of sharpie. There are three different routes that all connected through this one point, and I would always start my next route by coming back to that one point. I recorded a voice memo of what I was saying during my walk, which then I wrote down next to the map I drew on Bristol. I would say what I felt or what I was thinking about or even pointed out certain events that caught my attention. There are images next to the notes, one from each route, that caught my attention while walking.
1. The first walk was the most confusing due to it being first. I did not know where I was really walking and was more conscious of what I was doing. I was not in the mindset of walking freely and was walking as if I was walking to class. I was very tense and was not enjoying the walk as much as I hoped to. Time was slow and my perception of time was the same as it normally is. As I looked around and saw things I had never come across before, it became more interesting for me and I started to understand the area.
2. I was more at ease during the second walk. I was not thinking as much as to where I was going and what I was doing. I was beginning to analyze everything I was doing and because there was no real destination, I was relaxed and tried to allow my mind to wonder where it wanted to. I was really observing my surroundings and enjoying the walk much more. I realized I was noticing a lot more once my mind was just focusing on the journey. It was a head space of carefree and bliss. My perception of time was completely different from the first route. It was faster and everything seemed to be almost out of time. My environment made time seem nonexistent.
3. By the third walk, I felt I was part of the community I was walking through. I could feel myself walking and was thinking to myself about minor details that I would not have recognized before. It felt like I was there to explore and stopped by a flower market that caught my attention. It felt like I had time for myself and I. was just roaming around to please no-one but my own head. My perception of time was in between the first and second route. It was in a middle ground of the two head spaces. My feet were starting to ache and I was ready to head back home after a few more photos.
My map is drawn with an ink pen and sharpie with my personal thoughts as notes on the side. I then added a few photographs I took for a visual aid in the project. The outcome of this project was an experience I did not expect and would not have done in the past if it were not for this assignment. It opened my eyes to my own senses and consciousness. This project allowed my point of view on time on consciousness to expand and grow from its original state.
