LANDMARKS: HOW TO EXPLORE FOR FUN BY EVAN LASLO

To explore is to exercise our inquisitive urges, to observe our environments with wonder, and to familiarize ourselves with what we otherwise overlook. Exploration is the search for discoveries that exposes us to creative ventures. For exploration to work its magic, we ought to distract ourselves so, in our inattention, we are present to discover the little one-offs in life, rarities on our routine ruts, delights hidden in plain sight. We ought to focus less on our mundanities and sightsee oddities. We ought to trailblaze a virgin forest, wander down a foreign corridor, or set out into the unknown and establish an instance as our own.

Freshman year, I chose to explore campus each day and take note of quaint curios, curious characters, and hidden locations. The credentials are as follows: the subject must be authentic, out-of-place, time-sensitive, peculiar, and/or easy to miss. These discoveries, as a series, became Laslo’s Landmarks on social media: a documentation of notable encounters throughout campus from my travels and perspective. It is a journey without a destination, a scavenger hunt without a checklist, a rabbit hole without an end. Out of the 124 Landmarks, here are six:

“Stonehenge: Make It Miami Edition” – Stack of stones on sewer grate, North Quad

“Frosty the Forlorn” – Decrepit, forlorn snowman, Miami Inn

“Redress of Grievances” – Communal sticky note, bus stop ceiling, Farmer School of Business

“May Contain Nuts” – Peanuts in raisin dispenser, Kroger

“Hotdog Down a Hallway” – King Library

“Self-Preservation” – Lean-to shelter with beer cans, Ruder Preserve