Taking Time
For this project, I plan on documenting some of the things that are a part of my "new" everyday activities. By doing this project, we are documenting a historical event that I do not think will be shortly forgotten. Life for me has changed in various ways, but I am very thankful for what I have.
While this pandemic has brought many challenges to people worldwide, I want to shed some light on a few positives. I chose the title "Taking Time" because I think that is something that will be portrayed in my photographs. I hope to include things or moments that maybe have been forgotten about with the hustle and bustle of life before this pandemic.
I think my photos will consist of both people, places, and objects from home. I hope that my photographs will feature my family members, new hobbies, new struggles, and new successes. I am very thankful for my situation during this time, and I honestly think it is a critical time to "take time" to reflect.
This image does not belong to me, but I would like to use it as a point of inspiration. This is the link to the article this image is included in: https://lasvegasweekly.com/news/2020/mar/26/alone-together-maintaining-a-sense-of-community-wh/.
Taking time to adjust as I try to focus and pretend that I am working at school rather than working from home
1. Taking time to celebrate high school graduation in other ways with senior porch-traits
2. Taking time to try new things like cutting hair with the help of a YouTube tutorial
3. Taking time to appreciate the changes from winter to spring as I transition from school to home
4. Taking time to make our own plans at home
5. Taking time for neighborhood walks and reflection along with fresh air
6. Taking time to laugh about the silly things we woke up to see
7. Taking time to make mornings special for special people
8. Taking time to do things that we normally would not be doing otherwise
9. Taking time to plan top secret surprises to fill our empty calendars
10. Taking time to dance wherever we are (even if it's in the living room)
11. Taking time to appreciate, find, and create moments of joy
Closing
In conclusion, I went a slightly different direction than I had initially planned. I feel like my inspiration and perspective behind this narrative illuminates the "new" rather than the "everyday" activities. This project highlights the changes and the possible solutions in life during a time when people have to stay home. Rather than just doing what I usually do but in a new place, I recently found that I have been taking time to do new things while also being in a different location. I think I achieved my original inspiration plan, but I also ended up somewhere unexpected and unplanned.
I do not think that I will ever forget about these events. During this Spring of 2020, many events were planned. However, the current pandemic made those events unachievable. For my sister Jennifer who is a senior, she was supposed to have her senior prom, her high school graduation, and many more celebrations. Being home with many of my family members, we have found ways to celebrate still and recognize our milestones, our hidden "talents" (like grooming and cutting hair), and possibly our inner-pyro!
At the start of this project, I acknowledge how fortunate my situation is. I have a safe place to stay, family to be with, and stability during an unstable time. While for some, this time may not be one to document due to darkness, sadness, and fear. However, I wanted to document this time because it has done something somewhat different for me.
Usually, when I come home from school, my camera roll stays pretty similar: few changes happen from how it looked when I left school to when I returned to school. While the college experience has become a work-from-home situation, I have found moments when everything feels documentable and nothing feels documentable. The majority of my photos illustrate moments in time. I try to include and use the backgrounds to offer context because I believe the significance of these photos is found within their time and place in history. Without the home context connected to things that generally are not associated with home, the images could lose their meaning.
My choice of "taking time" emphasizes our efforts to re-create the things that got canceled or were postponed. In addition, my repetition of "taking time" embodies the transitions in figuring out how to adjust to being at home and how to make home a place of fun, a place of work, and a place of safety.
I found this project to be quite interesting as I observed my work and the work of my peers. It is interesting to see the changes across the world as we come from and go home to both similar and different places.
Overall, many things changed with the rise of COVID-19. My college classes are online. More siblings are home. I run occasionally. We cook and eat at home more often. We sit outside. We find ways to complete our appointments at home. We talk about the weather. We do crossword puzzles and play games. We have couches in our kitchen area. We say good morning and good night, always.
