Space and place are two different definitions. For most of the time, space stands for a physical concept, merely a neutral existence, while place can be seen as an advanced form of space. Place is the product of human’s intellectual and emotional activities. People accrue their experiences in an unfamiliar space by both using their five senses to get acquainted with the surrounding environment, and by building social networks to get involved in the cultural communities. Thus, unlike space, place is an emotional and vivid definition. It reveals that people hold their own comprehension and assign meanings to a space. This rule, I believe, is a universal one. Having been a student at Emory for one year, I found that Emory turns out to be a place to me; however, it differs from my hometown which I also called a place.
I was born and raised in Nanjing, a city in south-east China. It is a crowded city with large population compared to Atlanta in which Emory is located. People’s lifestyles deviate from the environmental differences. The environment in Nanjing makes it easy for the residents to access to a group of choices of activities. With the experiences in Nanjing, I experience Atlanta as less urban, which leads to a constant pace and monotonous lifestyle. Although initially I was not accustomed to and even resisted the style here, l changed my perspective to examine my life here and got to open up a new way of thinking about this new place. I found that at Emory, my relationship with other people and self had gone through dramatic changes.
My life at Emory also encourages me to reconsider the way by which people socialize with each other. The close-to-nature attribute of life here limits the locations and activities for the meetings with friends. This fact could be disappointing to people from a more metropolitan place, because of the loss of choices. However, then I discovered that this conversion brings both pros and cons. The varsity of activities in the urban areas brings affluent choices, and at the same time, too much information also comes in people’s mind. The information can distract people from engaging in the communication with their friends. In other words, in this situation, people might rely on the information and their interactions could be led by the exterior world. By contrast, when people are situated in a less urban situation, in particular, a place with less diverse choices of activities, their communications with friends can be more effective during the meet. The most original purpose of meeting a friend was to demonstrate affection and get a better understanding of each other. This process should have involved active exchanges of genuine emotion and information that is substantially related to the people themselves. In this form of interaction, friendship develops to become more solid and lasting. Coming to Emory helps me recognize this subtle but potent fact. In the place here then, I learn to pay more attention to others’ feelings. I attempt to be more empathetic about other’s emotions. By doing so, I gradually get to comprehend the individual differences.
The other unexpected transformation is that living at Emory enables me to build a closer relationship with nature. Indeed, within the walking distance around the Emory community, there are not a great many choices of socially constructed entertainment. I was not accustomed to this circumstance that is the opposite scene of my previous life. However, I soon realized that this is a valuable experience and another place in which I could build a solid bond with nature. As Henry David Thoreau writes in Walden, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived,” it is desirable for us to seek a harmonious relationship with nature. The nature is a mirror of the human life; for example, human building the society is comparable to birds building the nests. Closer to nature allows me to contemplates on the power of nature and the philosophy and inspirations from it. There is nothing immortal, while every current status is descended from the previous motions.
Meanwhile, I got closer to myself. In this industrialized era, the societal settings have to change promptly to cater to fast-paced human’s life. Walking in Nanjing is an incessant process of exploring the environment surrounding me. Although familiar with the city, I still cannot help wondering and seeking for the possible changes that might happen to the environment. Thus my attention was constantly attracted by the things that are novel to me. I feel excited about this process, for that witnessing the changes and development can often bring me some surprises and inspirations. However, I also find that this process can impedes my own ideas and reflections. My thoughts are incessantly interrupted whenever I was expecting to discover the new scenes during the trip. While at Emory, my new place, I get to have complete conversations with myself from time to time. The landscape at Emory is green and reticent. I can always obtain a peaceful and soft feeling by simply walking or resting for a while on the quad or in the woods. In other words, Emory provides me a space that is independent from the clamorous world. With less interference, I got the chance to dedicate to the movement in my own internal space. The natural environment stirs more frequent reflections on the books that I have been reading. I become able to develop the critical perspectives and examine subtle changes that happened to my values, insights, and way of thinking. Thereby, I get a stronger sense of self and intellectual communication with myself.
I was born and raised in Nanjing, a city in south-east China. It is a crowded city with large population compared to Atlanta in which Emory is located. People’s lifestyles deviate from the environmental differences. The environment in Nanjing makes it easy for the residents to access to a group of choices of activities. With the experiences in Nanjing, I experience Atlanta as less urban, which leads to a constant pace and monotonous lifestyle. Although initially I was not accustomed to and even resisted the style here, l changed my perspective to examine my life here and got to open up a new way of thinking about this new place. I found that at Emory, my relationship with other people and self had gone through dramatic changes.
My life at Emory also encourages me to reconsider the way by which people socialize with each other. The close-to-nature attribute of life here limits the locations and activities for the meetings with friends. This fact could be disappointing to people from a more metropolitan place, because of the loss of choices. However, then I discovered that this conversion brings both pros and cons. The varsity of activities in the urban areas brings affluent choices, and at the same time, too much information also comes in people’s mind. The information can distract people from engaging in the communication with their friends. In other words, in this situation, people might rely on the information and their interactions could be led by the exterior world. By contrast, when people are situated in a less urban situation, in particular, a place with less diverse choices of activities, their communications with friends can be more effective during the meet. The most original purpose of meeting a friend was to demonstrate affection and get a better understanding of each other. This process should have involved active exchanges of genuine emotion and information that is substantially related to the people themselves. In this form of interaction, friendship develops to become more solid and lasting. Coming to Emory helps me recognize this subtle but potent fact. In the place here then, I learn to pay more attention to others’ feelings. I attempt to be more empathetic about other’s emotions. By doing so, I gradually get to comprehend the individual differences.
The other unexpected transformation is that living at Emory enables me to build a closer relationship with nature. Indeed, within the walking distance around the Emory community, there are not a great many choices of socially constructed entertainment. I was not accustomed to this circumstance that is the opposite scene of my previous life. However, I soon realized that this is a valuable experience and another place in which I could build a solid bond with nature. As Henry David Thoreau writes in Walden, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived,” it is desirable for us to seek a harmonious relationship with nature. The nature is a mirror of the human life; for example, human building the society is comparable to birds building the nests. Closer to nature allows me to contemplates on the power of nature and the philosophy and inspirations from it. There is nothing immortal, while every current status is descended from the previous motions.
Meanwhile, I got closer to myself. In this industrialized era, the societal settings have to change promptly to cater to fast-paced human’s life. Walking in Nanjing is an incessant process of exploring the environment surrounding me. Although familiar with the city, I still cannot help wondering and seeking for the possible changes that might happen to the environment. Thus my attention was constantly attracted by the things that are novel to me. I feel excited about this process, for that witnessing the changes and development can often bring me some surprises and inspirations. However, I also find that this process can impedes my own ideas and reflections. My thoughts are incessantly interrupted whenever I was expecting to discover the new scenes during the trip. While at Emory, my new place, I get to have complete conversations with myself from time to time. The landscape at Emory is green and reticent. I can always obtain a peaceful and soft feeling by simply walking or resting for a while on the quad or in the woods. In other words, Emory provides me a space that is independent from the clamorous world. With less interference, I got the chance to dedicate to the movement in my own internal space. The natural environment stirs more frequent reflections on the books that I have been reading. I become able to develop the critical perspectives and examine subtle changes that happened to my values, insights, and way of thinking. Thereby, I get a stronger sense of self and intellectual communication with myself.