3 days, 3 ways.

1. For my first journey to the Holton Street Pedestrian Bridge, I decided to take the 15 bus which follows my original path quite closely, only having to exit and enter the bus again once to continue my route. This experience was very different from my first walk to the bridge. Almost immediately upon entering the bus, I took notice to the cool air pumping through the vehicle as the temperature remained warm outside. While riding the bus you are forced to interact with other commuters along the same route going about their day. I was reminded this as I sat and watched with entertainment an older woman, clearly not in her right mind, berate the bus driver for his "bumpy" driving skills.

2. For the second day I chose to travel by car as opposed to public transportation. Although this is not my typical mode of transportation, I thought it would be interesting to understand the experience as we have a large portion of commuting students attending UWM from all around Milwaukee. My first observation as I began to drive was how utterly disconnected I felt to the outside world around me. Although I was still perceiving the same surrounding as the day before something felt completely different. While riding the bus you act as a passenger, so you are given an extraordinary amount of freedom during the ride that the driver is unable to experience for obvious reasons. While I spent most of my time examining my surroundings as a passenger, one is almost too flooded with information and distractions to take anything other than that from this experience.

3. For my final journey in transportation, I borrow a bike from a friend to complete my trek. By bike, just as by car, I was able to follow my exact path from the original walk on Thursday. It has been some time since I have rode a bike as mine has been in dis immediate repair since last winter, so it really felt nice once I got going. Although I was still restricted d by the traffic flows and rules of the road, I felt a much greater connection to my surroundings while biking. Unlike transportation by motor vehicle, I was able to feel the wind in my face and the sweet smells of Italian baked goods waft down Brady St. as I made my way to the bridge.

"We make he world and, in turn, the world makes us."

As I consider the Nato Thompson reading and my experiences over the past three days, I found this quote to be quite eye opening. I had never really thought about the way others might be experiencing the walk down the very same sidewalk, look over a bridge, or as they take in the same smell. This is something important to keep in consideration as we make art regarding physical or geographical locations, as the non-artist or viewer might see what we see or think as a complete abstraction totally disconnected from their world or vice versa.