Richard He

Richard He

In this sketch, I attempt to visualize my own path around Harvard by drawing the places I frequent the most. In this sense, my representation of Harvard only takes into account the things that matter to me, leaving out the vast majority of the campus that may be of importance to others. Overall, I depict places of living (Kirkland House, Starbucks and CVS), leisure (Chipotle, Le’s and the T), academics (Littaeur, Emerson, and Lamont), and extracurriculars (Malkin Atheltic Center and Harvard Square Homeless Shelter). I used a logo when it was available and drew the building otherwise, as was the case for the buildings where I take classes and study. In order to depict the relative importance of the different locations and my movement throughout the campus, I drew the thickness of the path based on how frequently I followed it. For example, I spend the most time in Kirkland House at the bottom of the sketch, so the line is extremely thick. Because I go to Chipotle much less frequently, the line is much thinner.

My sketch is quite different from the standard map of Harvard because it is very personal. Comparing the two, I was surprised by how often I misjudged relative distance. Chipotle is much further West than I had previously thought, and Littaeur is much further North than I had depicted. In many ways, these misjudgments of relative distance are a reflection of my experience walking to and from these locations. My walk to Chipotle feels much faster perhaps because I can tolerate further distances when I am hungry, and time may seem to fly when I’m rushing across the yard to get to class on time. Ultimately, my sketch illuminates to me how the experience of travel across Harvard’s campus is much less about true distance and more about the emotional and mental state that I carry when I go about my everyday business.