Zachary Bost is currently a student at Cuyahoga Community College. His untitled essay responds to the following image from the INTER|URBAN project.
Amanda King, documentary photo by Peter Larson: http://interurban-cle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Web-Amanda-King-1024×683.jpg
Prompt #2 Reflection by Zachary Bost
The prompt #2 is what I will be discussing and the picture that I have chosen is the Amanda King, documentary photo by Peter Larson that shows four kids sitting in a picture from a train window. It is an image of people who are just hanging out with each other and sometimes that is all you need to do with the people who are your friends. The fact that it is a picture of young men and women with a whole future ahead of them but still have time to hang out and to not have a care in the world. I also enjoyed that it was on a train so that almost anyone could see it and that it is always going somewhere to be seen by new people. And the simplicity of the picture means that anyone could see it and understand what it means. But sadly this picture with it being so simple means that it could easily be over looked by people. It shows that there are so many things that just pass us by and may only be seen out of the corner of our eyes. That with everyone looking down on their phones all the time, how much do we see what is around us even like a picture on a train. But I suppose the point of the picture is for those few people who take a second to look around. And that seeing this picture reminds them of the time when they themselves were hanging out with their friends as kids with nothing in particular to do. Sometimes some of the best joys of life come from the small things. For when we are young, we do not see people that have racial differences, but for one reason or another this changes in some people and this picture is a great reminder for people of their early years when we all got along with each other.
This also coincides with the Anisfield-Wolf awards for showing that people from all over the world share common bonds. No matter what culture you come from everyone has a group of friends they like to share time with. It is a simple message that being with friends helps us to forget about the struggles of life for a while. This Anisfield-Wolf award picture is a wonderful example of social connection with others from all different kinds of backgrounds. The message that having friends can get you far in life with it being represented by literally being on a train that has people traveling long distances on it. That friends are never as far away as you think, even if they are miles and miles away, all it might take is a train ride to be with them again. And that in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we all need to just stop and look around us. We all need time to relax even if it is only for a very short time, which would allow us time to take a look at our surroundings with a fresh pair of eyes and truly see what is going on.
Most of all, that motivation to do good can all stem from one picture that we see from the train ride to something that could touch the lives of thousands or millions of people. That when everything is said and done, we all remember a time in our life with our friends. This is something all of us would be able to relate to, bring all of us a little closer together and understand one another better even if just by a small amount. By coming to understand other people, we have to look past skin deep details about the person and learn to recognize who they really are. And from understanding we can have a brighter future that everyone can share together.