The exciting rabbit holes:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe rabbit holes started to appear after we met with Professor Vivian Shen. She raised a question that perhaps none of us even thought about: How do you define wellness? What if someone wants to do Zumba or break things in a rage room instead of meditating? If calming down is a standard part of a wellness practice, is an adrenaline rush? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a memorable moment when two people and I said \u201cwatching ants\u201d simultaneously. We were on the path down memory lane, trying to remember what life experiences we enjoyed. Something as seemingly mundane as watching ants on the ground just might be a universal pastime for all humans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Play God was an exhilarating idea. One person mentioned that throwing people into the ocean in games is weirdly satisfying. We almost started a philosophical debate about what distinguishes wellness from satisfaction, but we decided that we don\u2019t care about the answer. We actually seriously thought about the scope of a Playing God experience. Like, what if you\u2019re just the God of water, and you\u2019re carving out the oceans of a new planet? We might need to connect this idea to the wellness concept just a bit more, though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We liked the idea of some sort of collaboration experience. I played flute in a concert band. Making harmony with other people is always a pleasant experience. Feeling connected to others is a type of wellness that not even money can buy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/innerverse\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Week-1-group-photo-smaller.jpg\")
First group photo after the first group meeting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\nOur team just had our first meeting with Heather and Ricardo. It was a really lovely way to kick off the semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ricardo practices jujitsu. Heather is organizing a themed yoga outing for us. And I\u2019m planning to take everyone to Group X\u2019s Sound Bath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since our project is called \u201cImmersive Wellness,\u201d we figured the best place to start is by immersing ourselves in wellness practices ourselves \u2014 basically, seeing what\u2019s out there and figuring out what wellness means to each of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone shared what attracted them to this project. Gamma said this was her absolute top choice. Nightray said she loves sports and is hoping we can bring some kind of fitness element in. ETC introduced Ethan to Sound Design, and he\u2019s really excited to experiment with the Cavern\u2019s surround sound system. Aiden is thinking about adding an element of smell to our installation, and lucky for us, Heather is an expert in incorporating smells into physical environments. She said that the tangerines I brought made the whole room smell citrusy, and that smells are tied to our survival, so humans tend to react strongly to them. We had a heated conversation about how a previous project used the smell of fresh dirt, like the one you\u2019d smell on a grassy lawn after rain. Apparently some people hated it. That\u2019s just unbelievable to us; we unanimously agreed that it smells amazing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our project is going into the Cavern, which is a pretty unique setup at the ETC: a huge, circular screen with surround sound. But our team only has one programmer and one artist, which means there\u2019s a lot riding on those two people. Aya, our solo programmer, has already started reaching out to classmates who worked in the Cavern last semester. Hopefully, we\u2019ll also get to talk to Josh, an ETC alum who has worked extensively with the Cavern and helped make the technology more accessible for future teams. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The possibilities are endless, and we really need to enjoy this feeling of hope while it lasts. Soon, deadlines will arrive, and we will inevitably have to give up on some out-of-scope dreams, but for now, I\u2019m imagining a small waterfall trickling through a forest, birds are singing, dirt smells fresh after the rain, and my wellness level is through the roof.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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