It's a Sharp Shock (To Your Soft Side).

Home.


Feeling homesick, my latest photo endeavors are centered around things that remind me of home.


First: An email I recently received from my amazing grandma who, after a week of my neglecting to call her and thank her profusely for the amazing care package she sent me for Easter, took matters into her own hands and instead contacted me. For some reason this email in particular struck a chord in me... The title is so sweet... So informal--so unlike my grandma's usual put-togetherness... I can't really describe it, but there's my attempt.


Second: The quilt my mom, as well as all the important ladies in my life (mommy, sister, grandma, aunts, etc.) made for me last summer. It is always a part of the tangled up mess of fabric and pillows I call my bed, and every time I snuggle up with it I am reminded of how much love I am literally surrounded by, and I feel a little less lonely. The quilt is a tangible representation of my family's love and support, without which I would be lost.


Third: Letters from friends and family received over the course of this year. I've always thought letters were far better than any email or text, so I try to write my friends as often as I can. Plus there is something so wonderful about looking into your mailbox and realizing there's a letter in there just waiting for you to read it. It's old fashioned I know, but I love it.


Fourth: Homemade cookies from my family. There is nothing better than a home-cooked meal, or treat. I asked a lot of my friends what they miss about home and almost every single one of them said the one thing they missed was their mom/dad/grandma's cooking. Food = Nostalgia. Food = Love.


Fifth: A picture of my mom and I from last summer. We went to SAM to see the Andy Warhol Media Works exhibit and before going in you could take your picture in a photo-booth and post it on a giant wall along with thousands of others. So, my mom and I being who we are, jumped in and took a bunch of goofy pictures of ourselves. The photo is nothing special, and it's just a little tiny thing, but it's one of my favorites, and I keep it pinned to the wall right by my bed.


Being so far away from the people I love has been so so SO difficult for me, but these little things that seem silly to anyone else are constantly reminding me that distance don't mean no thing. And when I'm feeling sad or alone, all I have to do is eat one of grandma's cookies or wrap myself up in the quilt or glance at the collage of photos pinned to my wall, and there, in the threads, ink and dough of those objects is my family's love and support. And I feel better, even if for only a passing moment.


My family is what keeps me going, and inspires me to be the best person I can be each and everyday. There it is, the cheesiest, most clichéd line in the history of cheesy clichéd lines.


But it's true. (That's WHY it's a cliché.)


So here's to the things that remind YOU of home,
-Lo