While out on my sound walk I heard so many new sounds, sounds that I never thought to pay attention to until I had to listen to them. The sounds of footsteps, clicking of printers, the sound of wind brushing through the trees and how loud silence can actually be, all of it was astonishing.
On the sound walk I was able to develop an appreciation for the noise around me. In the library the only sound around is silence. The sounds in the library seem to ricochet off one another and become louder because of the surrounding quiet. While there the sounds of the printer were escalated, students sneezing or coughing sounded ten times louder and even the slight sound of turning the page of a textbook was elevated.
Because I don't like to be in quiet places for too long the library was an uncomfortable experience for me. I was fidgety at first and felt like I was the loudest thing in the library while I tried to get comfortable, it was terrible.
My favorite part of the sound walk was being outside. The sound of nature and the slowing down of the day all meshed with my mood and calmed me down. All of the sounds outside seemed to focus my thoughts and allowed me to clear my head for once instead of constantly being on the move. I enjoyed hearing the grasshoppers, the wind and the sounds of animals scurrying to get home. Everything seemed to make a sound for a reason creating a symphony of noise that I began to appreciate and understand more as time passed on.
Lastly, the Ohio Hall lobby; while in the lobby I was able to witness something that most people don't. I saw the change from resident energy to the building radiating its own energy. The sounds of residents coming home to a long day of classes to the building creating its own rhythm and noise. It was amazing to be a still figure in that change.
Throughout the entire sound walk, the outside walk was my favorite because of the calming mood that it put me in. It is where I believe I had the most success and where I enjoyed listening the most.
