Thankful at Thanksgiving

I have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

This Is Me Then...

I had the opportunity to do a project that I didn't think I would be able to. I wanted to take portraits of people portraying how they feel at aparticular moment in their life. I also wanted a personalized letter explaining a few facts and creatively describing how they feel accompanying the portrait. Thank you to those who have shared their feelings and making it okay for others to express theirs.

   

An Uncertain Path

In life, we choose many paths: some paved and some bumpy, some straight and some winding. It can be a difficult task to choose which path to take, but we all have to take one.

Five years ago, I had to decide which college to attend. It was a decision that caused a lot of concern in my family. Concerns arose from money to whether I would be able to face the challenges university environments  had to offer. Ultimately, it was my decision, and I chose SIUC.

As a graduate, I will have to choose yet another path. It is a bittersweet feeling to say that this was my last year as a student at SIUC, but the feeling to move on urges me to do so.

The uncertainty of not knowing where I will be or whom I will work for does scare me. I can only hope that the education and experience that I have gained here will be adequate in this competitive world. But I know I cannot rely on that alone.

Anyone will tell you that life is tough. Whatever path chosen, I will make sure that I confront any challenge on the way. I have to want to succeed, even in the face of adversity. 

Choose your own path, because anyone will also tell you that life is too short.

Unexpected Excitement

As a photographer, when I hear the newspaper is light on stories, I know that means I will have to go feature hunting. This can be a difficult job, especially when you don't have a vehicle and are limited to campus when nothing is going on.

However, on a few occasions, we get lucky and something like the Marching Salukis' practicing outside Faner Hall turns into a front-page story.

I heard the band and rushed to see what was going on. I talked to a friend in the band, and he told me that they were on their way to the Amtrak Station to greet Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Before the band left for the station, I wondered, will the band walk to the station or will they play the whole way? A band member told me, "They never walk anywhere," and I prepared myself for a show.

Following the band down the road with police escorts in the front and back made me feel like I was part of the band. I never realized how much excitement a marching band could bring. They do a great job and clearly have fun doing it.

In this photograph, the Marching Salukis' trumpet players dance as the band makes its way down Poplar Street to greet Blagojevich. 09/25/2006.