photographs

Ever since I was young(-er), I loved pictures.

During highschool, I'd never forget a camera during field trips or fairs, and I would click away (is that how a camera sounds?). All throughout college, I continued with this interest...even joining the yearbook organization. Back then, "I would NEED to take pictures for the yearbook" was my excuse. When I became a teacher, I became even more of a shutterbug...it felt like I was creating a photo scrapbook of my own kids (hundreds of them!) Now, I invested in a digital camera, lest I go bankrupt with film and developing.

There's something about pictures and how every person in it has that big smile. No matter what the mood was before that particular shot, toothy grins and smiling eyes come out. And I relish that happiness captured on a piece of paper.

Something also has to be said for the memories captured in a photograph. Plenty-a-time, I would look at the pictures at would tear up or smile or even laugh. Because when I look at a photo, the memories are as real as the day it happened. And there are just those days and moments that you would like to relive because it was just...happiness.

Photographs, for me, are reminders that despite troubling times and big problems, there are those moments that stand out and give you this immense happiness. They show me that beauty still exists in this world...we only have to look at it.