Monday, March 6, 2017

Garrett Grimsman on Exploring and Interacting in the City

           My post has to do with my walk to my internship everyday and how much I walk in the city in general. I walk down Colfax everyday about 40 minutes to my internship. Simply observing and exploring the area is an experience in itself; walking around the city and doing as much walking as possible is the best way to get an understanding of the city life, as well as experiencing all that Denver has to offer. There have been plenty of times that we have been told that many individuals really do not enjoy walking on Colfax and around areas where there is a large homeless population. However, I do not mind it at all, and actually enjoy interacting with the people in this area regardless of who they are. I am able to learn a lot more from talking and being in the same space as individuals that are very different from me even when some of the situations can be a little awkward to begin with. It also helps that I care about the issues surrounding the problems with homelessness; it gives me a chance to learn from and actually see what is going in these parts of the city.
           Not only is it interesting to interact with these individuals on my own, but it is also remarkable to see how they interact with one another. I saw individuals that did not look too well off, from my perspective, playing/rolling dice and betting money on the games. This was probably the most interesting thing that I observed on my way to and back from work. It was interesting to see that they feel the only way to get back on their feet is to get lucky and win money some way from playing a game or from taking big risks to be able to make enough money to get going down the right direction. I do not feel like they are confident to try to make this move in a slow and steady way. Likely, they probably feel like they do not have the time to be able to get back on their feet. Perhaps doing it the slow and steady way makes them feel that they are falling into an even bigger hole then they are already in.
           Not only is it much more of an experience interacting with these people, but through walking, it is much easier to figure out all the places within the city that are a must-visit. It also helps that our apartment building is in such a great location where it is easy to get to practically every part of the Denver and surrounding area. Because Denver is so nice in the winter, it is a perfect time to be out here to be able to see all that I want to see without even having to drive anywhere. I have had such a great experience so far because of how much I have taken advantage of the different things to do, and how much I enjoy trying new things and taking on new challenges that are much different from what I am used to. So far, Denver has been everything I could have imagined and more. It has allowed me to experience so many new things that I have never had a chance to experience before. Denver is definitely a place I could see myself living after school and far into my future. I am enjoying it so far and plan to keep enjoying it and keep learning more and more about this wonderful city.

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