Mounica Akula

Statement: This essay on what I call "retro dallas" was inspired by my love to explore, travel, and discover. I have been living in a town outside Dallas called Coppell for over 10 years now. Over the years I have realized that I unlike when I was a child, I don't go out and explore my surroundings anymore. As a child, my imagination and search for new places was what made me who I am. And I believe that with all children, imagination and exploration are at the forefront because we want to escape and find a magic, fairy tale world. This essay, I dug deep into myself and found that side of exploration and came across a side of Dallas that I was not familiar with (side note: I was totally safe and had a friend with me). Discovering this made me realize that Dallas isn't just a place known being a huge metroplex but also a place where little heavens are found, like this "retro dallas". This will continue to be an ongoing project for me as I hope to find more "little heavens" around me.