The Message in My Photos

My mom takes a lot of pictures. She always has. There’s an entire wall at home she’s dedicated to framed family events and special occasions. The wall’s the first thing a person sees on his or her left when they walk in the house. It’s her way of letting people know they’re loved.

There’s hardly a bare wall in my parents' house. If it’s not a photo, it's a drawing or a painting from an unknown local artist, perhaps a family friend that was before my time. Nothing that would ever sell for thousands of dollars, but expertly done by somebody with a passion (or framed school art projects by me). My mom’s style is equal parts basic and unique. She’s my inspiration.

Her interior decorating is that of a person who grew up without the internet, who decided to use the space around her to tell a story. Home was a place to make company feel at ease, to enjoy one another, to feel secure from a world that doesn’t always make sense and can be exceptionally unforgiving. For me, home symbolized trust. Publicly, my mom isn’t one to get involved or overshare--not because she doesn’t want to, but because it might not be the time or place. To compensate, she turned our house into a living, breathing open book. The walls tell our story and stacks upon stacks of footnotes are tucked away in boxes, sitting in plain sight, ready to be shared with anybody who wants to know more.

It might seem strange and I might not even be it doing well, but when I take pictures, I’m trying to honor my mom. When I use social media, my blood pressure spikes. I feel anxious, insecure, and stupid. I can’t help but compare myself to others based on content with very little context. I try to fight through that by capturing some type of beauty in the mundane, and I don’t think one needs to travel the world to take pictures of the outdoors and brag about them.

If the world lives online now, I’m trying to show people what home looks like. Most of the time, things are peaceful. I want to give people a break from the chaos, even if momentary. If people want to know more, they can always ask.