On Longing

"The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale"

My parents passed through town on their way to celebrate their anniversary. We spent the day together and finished it by watching the sunset at the fort, one of my favorite things to do with the people I care about here. As my mom walked in front of me on the wall, I took a photo to capture the moment of us walking around the massive structure together.

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

I love digital photos, and physical photos printed later, but Polaroid pictures have a special place in my heart. I usually take my Polaroid camera with me on big adventures and special trips to capture the fun immediately, but sometimes it's just to capture a simple moment like an impromptu stress induced dance party with friends. It takes a moment in time and turns it into a physical object for me to hold onto.

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

I think of tattoos as souvenirs. I only have two, but they both have special meanings to me and allow me to mark on myself things that inspire me or remind me of special moments or objects in my life. Tattoos may not necessarily be thought of as exotic today, but their historic origins could be considered exotic.

"Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss"

These were letters I wrote to my siblings my first year of college. We are all history nerds, so I wrote folded up my letters in the 18th century style and sealed them with wax. I know my siblings loved the letters, but they never wrote me back, I only heard about their excitement through a phone call with my mom later on. I have lost the easily accessible face to face contact with my siblings, and It makes me nostalgic for when we were little rascals running around playing together.

"The place of origin must remain unavailable in order for desire to be generated"

This photo was taken on the last day I was spending in my dorm room of Ponce Hall my freshman year. It was a year full of change, but I also made some incredible friends. Now, I can't go back to that room like I used to every day, and I often wonder who's living there now and if they're enjoying their first year of college. It still makes me smile every time I walk past the window of that room.