On Longing

 "The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale."

This photo was taken when I was 13 years old and thought that I knew everything. Looking at this photo now in my mid-twenties just reminds me that I still don't know everything. I  look at this vast ocean and think that there is still so much for me to learn. 

"Capacity of objects to serve as traces of authentic experience."

I  took this photo of ground zero when my boyfriend and I went to New York City on September 11th, 2015. For me it was the first time ever going to New York City and it is a memory that I will never forget. The experience of being at ground zero on September 11th still gives me chills. 

"The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental, and the three dimensional into the miniature, that which can be enveloped by the body."

Last year was an exciting year for me, for many reasons. One of those reasons was because I finally graduated from community college. The four years it took me to get my AA were long and difficult. This picture shows every feeling I had towards finishing school. Holding that degree in my hand, and wearing that cap and gown was a monumental moment for me. 

"Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss."

This little guy in the picture is my baby brother. However,  he's not so little anymore, in fact, he is my height now. This year he started sixth grade and I can't help but wonder where the time has gone. I miss the little guy in the photo who always wanted to hang out and watch movies with me.  

"To have a souvenir of the exotic is to possess both a specimen and a trophy."

Unfortunately I have never been to an exotic place before, but I do have to say that my home state of California is just as beautiful as any other exotic location. The flower in the picture is the California Poppy, the state flower. When I was growing up in California I loved  to watch the poppies high on the mountains as we drove by in our car. The color orange makes the flower so vibrant and its petals are very delicate. The petals are soft like silk. I think of them as one of California's most exotic specimen.