While We Were Dreaming is a location-based platform designed to connect NYU students through the shared memories they create on campus. By pinning personal experiences to a dynamic map, students can reflect on key moments of their college journey and explore the memories of others enhanced by anonymity. This platform fosters a sense of community and nostalgia, bridging the emotional gap often felt in an open-city campus like NYU. The map becomes a collective memory, capturing the dreams and experiences of past, present, and future students.
While We Were Dreaming began as a response to the disconnect many students experience on an open-city campus like NYU. As students move through the bustling streets of New York, they often miss opportunities to connect with their peers and reflect on the memories that shape their college experience. The name, While We Were Dreaming, is inspired by the iconic "Dream Until It's Your Reality" graffiti that can be found scattered everywhere among campus and other places in the city that is often one of the first sights that greets students upon their arrival in New York. It resonates with the spirit of NYU, where the city and campus serve as the backdrop for countless dreams – thus, one can say this platform serves as a map of all our memories and the things we did here "while we were dreaming".
Over time, the idea evolved into a simple, anonymous platform that prioritizes reflection and nostalgia, without the distractions of likes or comments. Designed by a team of passionate students, While We Were Dreaming is an interactive tool that captures the essence of college life at NYU, allowing users to explore both individual and shared histories.
We welcome contributions from the community! To get started, please review our CONTRIBUTING.md document, which outlines the guidelines for contributing.
Once the project reaches the appropriate stage, this section will be updated with detailed instructions for building and testing the application.