When All This Is Over, We Will Celebrate

WHEN TWO WEEKS OF SPRING BREAK TURNED INTO A TWO YEAR QUARANTINE.

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AS A PHOTO BOOK FOR MY UNDERGRADUATE THESIS PRESENTATION, THIS PHOTO ESSAY FOLLOWS MY EXPERIENCE LIVING WITH MY FORMER BEST FRIEND’S FAMILY DURING THE COVID-19 QUARANTINE AND PANDEMIC. ON THE SURFACE IT SEEMS LIKE A SLIGHTLY SKEWED, ALMOST INTENTIONALLY FEEBLE ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND AND RATIONALIZE THE SITUATIONS AROUND ME. AT ITS CORE, IT IS A STORY ABOUT LOSS, GRIEF, BIRTH, LOVE, FAMILY, GENERATIONAL TRAUMA, HOMEMAKING, AND HOW WE FIND LIGHT IN DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES. PIGGYBACKING OFF OF MY OWN EXPERIENCE OF HOUSING INSECURITY, I FOUND MYSELF DEEPLY INTERROGATING THE VALUES AND STRUCTURES I LED MY LIFE BY DURING THAT TIME, RESULTING IN WHAT HAS RESULTED IN COMPLETE AND TOTAL RENOVATION.

TO ME, THIS PROJECT IS THE REPRESENTATIONAL CULMINATION OF THE END OF MY ADOLESCENCE. IT FOLLOWS A FAMILY I AM NO LONGER A PART OF, FEATURES A FRIENDSHIP THAT DID NOT SURVIVE THE CHANGES THE PANDEMIC FORCED US ALL TO ENDURE, IN A HOUSE THAT HOLDS A DIFFERENT FAMILY NOW. IN THE SIMPLEST TERMS, THESE PHOTOS ARE THE ENDING OF A CHAPTER IN MY LIFE, AND AN ENDING FOR THE PEOPLE IN THEM AS WELL. IT IS AN HOMAGE TO A DECADE OF STRUGGLING TO DEFINE FAMILY. IT IS MY LAST DEVOTION TO A FRIENDSHIP THAT DEEPLY CHANGED ME. IT IS A LOVE LETTER TO THE PART OF ME THAT HOLDS ON TO THE PAST. IT IS AN OBSERVATION ABOUT MOTHERHOOD AND GENERATIONAL CYCLES. IT IS DONE IN THE PRESENCE AND UNDERSTANDING THAT A LIFE WITHOUT GRIEF IS NOT A LIFE AT ALL. AND ABOVE ALL, IT IS A POIGNANT CURATION OF THE DEEP NEED FOR HUMANITY AND CONNECTION IN DARK TIMES.