{"id":12674,"date":"2014-10-01T02:39:37","date_gmt":"2014-10-01T02:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/challengedetroit.org\/blog\/sethhaug\/?p=4"},"modified":"2014-10-01T02:39:37","modified_gmt":"2014-10-01T02:39:37","slug":"energy-is-in-the-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/energy-is-in-the-air\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy is in the Air!"},"content":{"rendered":"

For someone who feeds off positive energy, Detroit is overcharging my batteries.<\/p>\n

Wow!\u00a0 Challenge Detroit started only a month ago and already my experience has been as amazing, inspiring, and yet as challenging as advertised.\u00a0 I met my incredible Co-Fellows, listened to influential speakers, and started work at my host company (Clark Hill<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s fitting, then, to write my first blog post about Detroit\u2019s almost tangible energy, as that is what is still resonating in me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not going to lie, before Challenge Detroit I treated Detroit like one might treat a stinky bathroom: get in, get what you need, and get out before any lasting damage is done.\u00a0 I spent 2.5 years in Southeast Michigan (Ann Arbor and Ferndale) and only visited Detroit for specific events, so my views of the city were very limited.<\/p>\n

That all changed when I started working at Clark Hill. \u00a0Clark Hill is located in the heart of downtown Detroit and occupies floors 34-36 in the city\u2019s second tallest building.\u00a0 From my panoramic perch, I could see blue water surrounding picturesque Belle Isle, two sports stadiums, countless historic buildings, and industrial factories coupled with expansive green space.\u00a0 After taking in these breathtaking views (see above), I felt a spark of fondness for Detroit ignite inside me.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The view from Clark Hill looking towards Belle Isle.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Another<\/a>

Another view from Clark Hill – 35 floors up<\/p><\/div>\n

My affection for Detroit grew stronger as I experienced my first lunch on\u00a0Campus Martius<\/a>.\u00a0 According to its website, historic Campus Martius Park \u201canchors a two square block district that is the commercial center and heart of downtown Detroit\u2026All of the major avenues radiate out from Detroit\u2019s Point of Origin in the Park\u201d (thanks to two DXF<\/a> tours, \u00a0I can tell you many more fun facts about Campus Martius \u2013 so please ask).\u00a0 During the summer and spring months, Campus Martius is transformed with an amazing array of available activities that seem tailor-made for me.<\/p>\n

Think I\u2019m hyping up my new city for the sake of the blog? Well, let me list all of the great possibilities Campus Martius has:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cadillac Square Street closed down to accommodate 4 half court basketball<\/strong> hoops and 1 sand volleyball<\/strong> court<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ping pong, cornhole, washers,<\/strong> and large Jenga<\/strong> set up throughout Cadillac Park<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A bevy of food truck options including the Mac Shack (yeah that\u2019s an entire food truck devoted to\u00a0Mac and Cheese<\/strong> varieties)<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A beach<\/strong> full of actual sand<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2 stages of live music<\/strong>, with a revolving schedule of local musicians<\/p>\n

6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A brand new Beirgarten \u00a0<\/strong>(okay, so this wasn’t there during my first lunch and I wouldn’t\u00a0partake during work hours, but it\u2019s still pretty awesome)<\/p>\n

7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A road closed 1 block away for the filming of Batman vs Superman<\/strong><\/p>\n

8)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 An overwhelming undercurrent of positive energy<\/strong> flowing through the entire area<\/p>\n

\"Notice<\/a>

Notice a small portion of the beach to the right, the fountain to the left, and the Beirgarten straight ahead.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A<\/a>

A small sample of the food trucks that park on the square.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Beyond Campus Martius, I’ve also had countless other experiences just as powerful.\u00a0 I’ve felt the City\u2019s ever present energy in its neighborhoods, its entrepreneurial l spirit, and even its devotion to the Central Division winning Tigers (I had to sneak a sports reference in).<\/p>\n

I can already foresee this being an incredible year with the city of Detroit playing a starring role.\u00a0 I know I will never be lacking for inspiration as long as I tap into the City\u2019s ever-present strength and vitality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For someone who feeds off positive energy, Detroit is overcharging my batteries. Wow!\u00a0 Challenge Detroit started only a month ago and already my experience has been as amazing, inspiring, and yet as challenging as advertised.\u00a0 I met my incredible Co-Fellows, listened to influential speakers, and started work at my host company (Clark Hill).\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s fitting, then, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":317,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12674\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}