Worldbuilding at UCI

Where and how does this university provide spaces for retreating, reflecting, critiquing, and building worlds with others?

The Decameron and Storytelling

In Professor Shemek's lecture on the Decameron, I've learned how storytelling can either construct or conceal the truth. For example, at the very beginning it's established that we aren't told the Brigata's actual names and that we are only given the names that best suit their personalities. This also continues for all of the characters in each of the Brigata's stories. While the Brigata are only fictional, it's speculated that they were based on real people that Boccaccio knew.

What I also found interesting were how each day's theme/stories are continuously built upon from the previous day. Each day's stories teaches a moral/lesson than can be applied in real life if the reader chooses to. For example, they humanize the people who religiously devote themselves to Christianity even if it was seen as ghastly at the time.

Additionally, it's interesting how the Brigata moved away from Florence and created their own space to escape from its misery, and yet starting on Day 4 their dynamic begins to shift and they begin to tell stories of tragedy. It shows how even the safest retreat cannot last forever.

The Pastoral Setting at UCI

Recently, I have finally managed to get my hands on my electric scooter* and took the chance to admire the scenery at Aldrich Park and Ring Road. This is something I never really took the time to do ~~because I'm just too lazy~~, but it's nice to admire the scenery when you're not busy trying to make it to class on time. I even took some nice pictures because that's just how relaxed I felt.

Prior to scooterville, everytime I had lecture I would cut through Aldrich Park to make it to class on time, leaving little room for me to just take in what's around me. All that I could think about was:

Damn...if only I had my scooter...

Jokes aside, sometimes I do have other thoughts, with them sometimes consisting of me comparing how different UCI's greenery is compared to UC Santa Cruz. You see, UCSC was my top choice for a school because I loved the forest surrounding the campus (and it had my major too I guess). I think about how nice those abundance of trees were when I went to visit and then I look at UCI and get slightly sad at its lack of trees in comparison. Don't get me wrong, UCI can be pretty (I mean--look at these pictures I took!) but a part of me will always wonder what could've been.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that UCI's scenery has shown me how much value I put on being surrounded by nature, something that I have never put much thought towards before coming here. It revealed a truth that I was not yet aware of until it was too late.

Going back to the pictures, I really loved them, especially those of Aldrich Park. It's nice putting in earbuds and just taking a scroll admiring what UCI has to offer in terms of greenery. It's even better when you have a friend to talk with on the way to wherever you both are going. It feels like a completely different world from the rest of the campus. It's peaceful ~~as long as you get out of the way of bikers~~ and it's a feeling that I cherish.

I know I haven't explored all of campus yet, so I'm excited to see what other greenery I can find. Maybe I'll visit that area behind the Science Library, who knows.

* TLDR: mailroom wouldn't give me my package, had to redeliver to back home, then had to wait almost 2 months to receive it from my parents when they had the chance to visit...living far away from home and dorming is tough

UCI as a Liminal Space

Brandywine

For me, Brandywine currently serves as the most impactful liminal spaces on campus. This place played a huge role in helping me transition from high school to being away from home during the summer. It's here where I've met most of my friends and is the easiest place to meet with them when schedules don't conflict.

Happy memories aside, Brandywine also feels liminal because everyone just does their own thing in there. It's very different from high school, where you can feel loneliness weighing down on you if you sit by yourself. Here, everyone pretty much just minds their own business as they wait to go to their next destination. While I'm sure this is not the case for most people, I love not caring about how I'm sitting by myself when I'm eating. Granted, I hate sitting by myself when its packed because it's super hard finding a space that's not already occupied by a group...

While it does get annoying finding a place to eat during rush hours, eating at Brandywine by myself has taught me how important it is to be comfortable doing things on your own. Your schedule may not always align with your friends, so sometimes you just have to go out and enjoy things on your own. It's hard to get out of your safety bubble, but that's unfortunately a way of life. Safe havens can't last forever, so you might as well learn to deal with the fallout early on.

The ICS Building

A poorly taken picture of the ICS building :)

Another place that serves as a liminal space for me is the ICS building.

Being a part of the Video Game Development Club and the Animation Anteaters, most if not all of their meetings have taken place here. There are a couple of reasons for me being apart of these clubs.

I want to improve on my art skills and continue learning about animation
I want to learn how art can apply to the video game industry and learn how to code video games

To elaborate on the first reason, before coming to UCI I wanted to break into the animation industry because I was so impressed with how people could build all types of worlds with art and the works created based off these animations from their fanbases. I really wanted to become either a storyboard artist or a character designer, but eventually I decided to pursue video games because it combined art and coding into one depending on what path you wanted to take.

So, this building serves as a liminal space because it has helped me keep in touch with the old me while building up the new me. It's a transition from doing things purely for fun to building up my skills for the video game industry.

Two Worlds

Looking back towards the Decameron, it really shows how much of an influence the outside world can have on a story's world. Their stories were told in order for them to gain back a sense of humanity during the Plague in Florence and consisted of stories ranging from funny and happy to tragic and foreboding. Not only that, but their environment heavily influenced how adventurous their stories could get (such as their stories getting more risque the further they moved from Florence).

Meanwhile, for me, my story is based on the clubs and programs I have had the chance to be a part of. These experiences played a major role for how I viewed these different places and the story I was able to tell with them. Just like the Brigata, I will definitely be learning some lessons from these places in the following years that will continue to shape how I will approach and interact with the world around me.

Reflection

For this digital archive I tried to write in a less academic style and wrote in a style that's closer to how I would write in an online space (with most of this style taking place near the beginning). While I'm not sure if this something that I will continue in the future, it's nice getting all my thoughts down about UCI this way. It really helped me reflect (ha) on what I've gain from coming to UCI and how I have built my own world here and how it looks like.

Aside from that, I don't have much to say about this activity. While it was easy to write about my perspective, I'm not sure if I made a strong connection to what was discussed in lecture. I guess that's something that I unfortunately sacrificed during this Digital Archive activity. But at least I had a more enjoyable experience writing all of this!

Header Image Source: Photo by Jeff Guab from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/landscape-photography-of-grass-field-during-golden-hour-2407608/

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