Day 4

No excuses (honestly I really wish I could have kept this journal because holy shit did I hit some emotional craters).  Just these words that represent one of the last three papers I will write as an undergrad.

The topic is the phrase "every photograph is a self-portrait" and needed to be only a page long.

Self-Portrait of Opinion

On a personal level I have lived better in the last few years due to my experiences in the past.  Having a traumatic head injury 13 years ago locked me into a prison of reliance on others, unable to act out socially with friend or emotionally with my wife and new child.  Five years ago the abatement of concussion symptoms finally rusted the iron bars of seizures and light-sensitivity giving me a second chance at a productive life.  Since that time I set myself goals in self-improvement, some large, some small.  The first stop was regaining the ability to drive as my license was taken away due to the seizure spells.  After gaining my picture on a Minnesota state ID, I decided to inquire about hearing aids to enhance my social skills.  Unlike my hearing aids worn in high school, these brought out the songs of birds and my children’s voices as if they were speaking to me for the first time.  Lastly, my three and a half year journey to improve my financial and professional worth will come to a close as of June 22^nd, 2013.  Graduating from college is a journey that started as a high school graduate of Osseo Senior High gaining entry to Arizona State University and realizing that money sometimes can knock our life’s course off onto a different road.  The phrase “every photograph is a self-portrait” means to gather all of the experiences plus the personality of an individual into their critique of an image.  My journey through life thus far is not the same as a person who may read this paper, much like my thoughts on a photograph would be different than that of the same reader. 

            For example, if I looked at picture of my family’s home and described its surroundings, I would do so with pride as we have put a lot of work into our house by trimming aging trees, replacing windows and siding, and put on a brand-new roof.  A person with financial wealth may look at my home in disgust, pointing out how small it is with splintered wooden beams in the entryway or the cracked blacktop driveway.  Or someone who is poor and unable to afford their own home may see it as an unattainable castle with perfectly lined bushes guarding the basement floor.  The cash-strapped individual may also look at a picture of the backyard to see a large half-acre of wooded land and marvel about all the space.  Whereas the rich may turn their noses up at the choppy, weed-riddled landscape and weathered shed that could use some paint.

            “Every photograph is a self-portrait” is saying “this is how I view the world from my perspective”.  My recent experiences in life have left a scar that I am proud of and will allow for growth in the years to come.  Because that growth my perspective on paintings and other photographs now would not compare to that angst-ridden person coping with the darkness of a head injury.  Even the same person could (and should) have two different opinions on a photograph at different times in their life.  

Four days.