This photo essay contains three photos with descriptions that highlight the importance of family, friendship, and tradition. The first photo depicts paddles the author's grandfather carved for his grandchildren as a symbol of his affection despite not being overtly expressive. The second photo shows the author and friends overlooking their city from above, representing their deep bond and connection like interwoven streets. The third photo shows the author's large family silently watching the powerful ocean during their annual camping trip, a tradition that brings them together and produces valuable memories. Overall the essay celebrates the author's cherished relationships and her hope to pass on traditions while also forging her own path.
This photo essay contains three photos with descriptions that highlight the importance of family, friendship, and tradition. The first photo depicts paddles the author's grandfather carved for his grandchildren as a symbol of his affection despite not being overtly expressive. The second photo shows the author and friends overlooking their city from above, representing their deep bond and connection like interwoven streets. The third photo shows the author's large family silently watching the powerful ocean during their annual camping trip, a tradition that brings them together and produces valuable memories. Overall the essay celebrates the author's cherished relationships and her hope to pass on traditions while also forging her own path.
This photo essay contains three photos with descriptions that highlight the importance of family, friendship, and tradition. The first photo depicts paddles the author's grandfather carved for his grandchildren as a symbol of his affection despite not being overtly expressive. The second photo shows the author and friends overlooking their city from above, representing their deep bond and connection like interwoven streets. The third photo shows the author's large family silently watching the powerful ocean during their annual camping trip, a tradition that brings them together and produces valuable memories. Overall the essay celebrates the author's cherished relationships and her hope to pass on traditions while also forging her own path.
This photo essay contains three photos with descriptions that highlight the importance of family, friendship, and tradition. The first photo depicts paddles the author's grandfather carved for his grandchildren as a symbol of his affection despite not being overtly expressive. The second photo shows the author and friends overlooking their city from above, representing their deep bond and connection like interwoven streets. The third photo shows the author's large family silently watching the powerful ocean during their annual camping trip, a tradition that brings them together and produces valuable memories. Overall the essay celebrates the author's cherished relationships and her hope to pass on traditions while also forging her own path.
would not assume humor to be a quality he would obtain. His pinched, whitening eyebrows, peppered straw-like facial hair and washed out blue jeans do not exactly scream funny. Upon closer inspec tion, one might take note of his calloused hands, the lines in them like that of a map, depicting direction and history. Like the lines on his hands, t he lines on this map go in several directions. This map shows where he has been , the hours of hard work visibly displayed through several scars,hardened callouses, and countless wrinkles. It also notes the places he hopes to venture - while his hands look w orn, they are strong and full of anticipation, always working and never tiring out. Those calloused worn hands are the ones that took such time and used imme asurable precision to cra these paddles for each of his grandchildren. My grandfather is not one for words. Instead he chooses to pour his time and emotion into creating unique pieces of, what I would consider, art. These paddles hang in my grandparents house as a joke, for when we misbehaved, these paddles that hung with our names specically labeled on them were always referenced with a wink or a sly smile, never once being touched. They represent more than just a joke though, they share the words that he would rather create and put int his work than say. These detailed pieces symbolize a small display of my grandfathers endless aection for something that we all admire most, family.
Many would nd it humorous the amount of time we
spent trying to nally snap this cliche picture of our shoes, laces frayed and colors faded, overlooking the city. Below us is a diverse city, one lled with a variety of cultures,one that continues to go about its day. We look down at this iconic city that, despite us not living in it, has shaped who we are. We look down at the sporadic and uneven roads that give the city its character as we grow into our own. The lines of the streets resemble the lines on our shoes, both worn ways of transportation. These lines resemble those of our friendship. These girls that I have grown up with, our lives intertwined and connected like those of a street. Our friendship forming early on in life, our timeline continuing on for years aer and more years to come. This friendship is and might remain to be the most stable thing in my life, its always present and dependable. Its obvious to everyone who knows us that we are all pieces of each other, formed into unique individuals. Calling us friends doesnt sound right, it sounds too distant. The strings between us are what tie us down, they keep us grounded and in place. These girls are my family; the lines and connecti ons we share are webbed together to form an unmistakable bond. We continue to grow together, mapping out our future as the present moves forward.
I can easily recall this moment in time. I held on tight
to the hand of my smallest cousin as the chilling sea breeze blew, goosebumps forming on our skin. The lot of us sat on this rock, in silence (a rarity in our family), as we gazed at the ocean. The waves were huge this day, the ocean not resembling the one we had all swam in the previous day. Our eyes wide and mouths shut as nature aunted a fraction of its power. Though we are all very dierent and separate individuals, we are connected through our bloodlines. Th ese ties are occasionally present to others, but show themselves best when we all gather together. We have many traditions in my family, but by far my favorite is our annual camping trip. I hated it at rst, not sure what to make of the quirky town in which we camp, but aer a year or two of returning, it has wound up being a tradition I hold close to my heart. These camping trips never fail to produce valuable memories; memories I will undoubtedly carry with me into my future. These traditional trips are something I would love to pass down to a family of my own one day. In a world where so many things become common and mundane, its important to hold some things sacred. Our lineage is where we come from, but its up to us to create our own maps of life. I hope to keep old traditions and family values close to my heart, but I also hope to make my own traditions, to pave my own path. When standing on a line, one can chose to do three things; walk forward, walk backward, or stay in place. I believe its important to take all options into consideration. I think you should look to your past in order to construct a positive future, live in, relish, and maybe even capture the moment of the present,and most importantly, continue to grow and move into your future.