Inside of Houston would be the small towns of Spring Branch and Cypress, respectively being displayed as well. My first memories come from Spring Branch. It was where I grew up, my childhood. Spring Branch and my parent's old house represent my adolescence and the seemingly endless memories of joy and happiness that come from your childhood. On my map, the figure of a bicycle would be stamped on the dot marking Spring Branch. The bike represents my favorite past-time and an instrument of childhood left behind only as a memory.

Our house in Cypress on the North-West side of Houston was the house we moved to from Spring Branch. It was the home I lived in from first grade up until my last year of high school. Because of this, I consider Cypress my home town. It was in Cypress that I have most of my memories from. Moving to Cypress was the literally the beginning of my educational career. The home we moved into was two blocks away from the elementary school I would soon attend. The subdivision was named Fairfield and was only a few miles down the highway from my high school, Cy-Fair High School. I participated in the marching band at our school and spent many hours practicing my instrument, the Euphonium; also known as the Baritone because nobody likes saying "Euphonium." Or typing it, for that matter. I digress. The symbol for Cypress is my old Baritone. This instrument represents my devotion to my studies, which have now become an integral part of my daily life. School is no longer a place to go and talk to your friends or sell sketches of your favorite Power Ranger for fifty cents to anyone willing to pay. Instead, I began to find that I had more and more responsibilities outside of home. I must read for classes, study for tests and, god forbid, practice my Baritone. I hated that damned thing.

San Antonio represents my departure from home. I moved there to attend UTSA for my freshmen year of college. The four hour drive from Houston was miserable, and so was the first couple months of living there. The astounding sense of freedom wears off quickly. That year in San Antonio was far from easy. I found myself in a very hairy situation not long after beginning class at UTSA and was forced to make some hard decisions because of it. The emblem for San Antonio would be a cross. I, myself, am not religious, but that year I found God. There were some obstacles I don't think I should have came out unscathed through. If there is a G-man, he was looking out for me that year.

And finally, we have Austin, Texas. "Ow-Stahn, Tehk-sas" as one Vince Young so eloquently put it. This city is the embodiment of liberty, pride and self-awareness. After living only a year in San Antonio, I had just begun to crawl out of my shell and venture out when it came time to move again. It takes time to adjust to a city like San Antonio, especially because of the size of the school I had just landed at. Coming from a fairly large, about 1,500 students, high school to a university boasting over 20,000 students was quite a culture shock. You would think, then, that coming to Austin would be an even bigger surprise, but somehow it wasn't. I felt accepted and welcomed from the get-go. Austin felt so warm and accepting that it was okay to lose yourself in the crowd. You were an individual inside of a group 50,000 strong. I skipped the entire hermit phase upon moving to Austin. I was open and out-going the day I stepped foot in the Heart of Texas. For Austin, I will to use the UT Tower for this city's symbol. It symbolizes pride and individuality to me. Despite its lingering presence, it largely goes unnoticed through all of the commotion in the every-day ritual of students, but it remains there unaffected, looking as powerful as the day it was created.

My version of the cosmogram looks at my journeys throughout my educational career. Beginning with my humble steps as a child first learning to walk and ending at the top of the stairs of the South Mall looking up to the infamous tower.

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