The YMCA

The YMCA
As I wait at the stop light before I turn into the parking lot to my job, it stands before me on my left hand side. The big red sign with YMCA written in bold letters leads you to look at the bulletin board of all the activities going on inside that are available for kids. Evenly cut green grass and an even amount of bushes on both sides of the two entrances surrounds the front of the red brick building. A second level, which is not made of the same red bricks but just a white wall screams for your attention as your driving by with the big bold red letters that also say YMCA.
The Main entrance with the faded burgundy awning and the address written in what used to look like snow white colored numbers, lest anyone enter through the double glass doors. Two big glass windows on the left side of the main entrance that are the same length as the building front, let you see straight in to the nursery rooms with loud colors of art work and furniture where the children are seated on. To the left side of the window leads you the entrance which is only for Pre-K and nursery students and their parents, as it clearly says on the sliver awning in black bold font. As I turn into the parking lot I either see people rushing into either entrance or rushing out. For a fairly large building the parking lot in the front is only the size of a parking lot that is at a fast food restaurant, and every spot is taken. This will lead you to drive to the back parking lot, which is also has about the same amount of spots as a fast food restaurant does, but very tight like a back alley. In the back parking lot you see the back of the building, which is bare because unlike the nice green grass in the front, cracked cement surrounds it. There are two entrances, the one on left with the same double glass doors as the front and the doors at the entrance to right are rusty blue and the paint would just take a second for a person to peel off. Once you get out of the car in the back lot you smell a musty scent of dirt and sweat. A pine green track to the left of the yard is the cause of the smell of sweat and the smell of dirt comes from the patches of dry dirt and dry yellow grass surrounding the large colorful playground for the kids. Viewing the front and back of the building, may make one question what does inside look like?

The YMCA
If one were to walk through the main entrance of the building and from the metal surrounding the glass double doors, the handles are always cold. When you walk through and open the second set of double doors, a gush of warm air hits your body and the smell of chlorine runs straight up the nose. The two big swimming pools, one to the right and one to the left give off that strong aroma, and the smell continue to get stronger as people pass by you in their dripping wet bathing suits. A large blue desk that's straight ahead covered from head to toe in fliers makes one stop to look and see what activities are available. All along while you are looking at the fliers the receptionist stares you down and before you can even read a word, questions you for your id. The colors in the lobby consist of red ricks, off white, deep blue, dark yellows, and bright reds. Very loud vibrant colors are throughout every hall way, along with the loud noises of children coming from each direction. The first floor is always crowded with parents running in and out to pick up their kids, and the two entrance doors in both the front and back of the building are the
cause of this, because they all lead to the same hallway. Hot and musty is the feeling of the building because of all the different activities going on throughout the building ranging from all ages of people. The two stairs cases you find inside both have the smell of sweat because they both lead to work out facilities, where only adults are aloud, and that explains why the smell is always so fowl. Very narrow hallways cause people to bump into each other or the walls, which is why you will see maintenance cleaning the walls and floors the whole time you are there. After being inside you get the sense that the sign of good security they are trying to portray from all the different labeled entrances is misleading. Once your inside and you show your id, a person can walk in from the main entrance and can easily walk straight to the nursery or anywhere else throughout the building once their id is checked. As your inside the thought that it is a large building goes away, once you’re in you'll feel like your crammed in a tight hallway during the break between two classes in high school.