Working with the Ryerson Entertainment Conference (REC) for the second time, I wanted to create an environment that allowed people to feel. Growing up, feelings like anger, jealousy and depression were always pushed down inside me. I felt shame for feeling these ugly emotions and grew to hate myself for not being able to control them. Through the years, I’ve learned the value of these heavy emotions. Rage, fear, envy, they are equally important as joy. I’ve learned they are indicators of ourselves and of the situations we’re dealing with, and as difficult as it may be, taking the time to understand why we feel this emotions help us much more than pushing them down. I wanted to create an environment that displayed these emotions on a fair scale for guests to experience. Through the Safe Space my team draws from nature to emulate rippling sounds, textures, and alluring visuals to immerse guests in emotions of anger, depression and joy. It provides solo pods that allow individuals to be alone and reflect, and provides comfortable spacious seating for guests to ruminate and feel.