Endings and Beginnings.

I have one final left and the last issue of the 2007-2008 Kernel has already been issued. My freshman year at UK is basically over. And while I’m a little sad as we all part ways for the summer, and some of us to go out into the world of real jobs and grown-ups, my sadness can’t help but be outweighed by my anxious excitement for the things to come.

I’m excited. Excited to have been a part of the good work we produced this year, and even more excited for the things the I and the rest of Team UK journalism are going to do next year. I’m going to be a multi-media and project machine and I’m going to love almost every minute of it. And even more so, I’m excited about my summer in Memphis, working and learning, and having one sole responsibility. Taking pictures.

On a side note, I have been doctor released to ditch my crutches and go to Memphis, without being sliced open. And that is my happiest ending, and beginning, of all.

Cabin Fever

I’m still not moving as fast as usual, but trying to manage to take pictures whenever possible without setting my recovery  process back even further. Here’s a frame from the other day.

More pictures to come as my knee becomes less and less hateful.

lessons in life and death.

We always talk about the things we get to experience, with a camera as our excuse. I’ve been in planes thousands of feet above the air, weaved through old building catacombs underneath the city streets, stood in the jail cell room of the football stadium; all to visually document. We place ourselves in these situations to see in a different way, to see from the view that the story needs telling. Yesterday all I did was stand in a Baptist church, but I feel that it was by far one of the biggest experiences of my short time in this. What I saw wasn’t something tangible, it wasn’t really something I could see at all, aside from the tears and tissues. It was something I felt, an incredible cloud of sadness for a girl I’d never known.

For those of you who don’t know, Connie Blount was a beautiful 18 year old girl. She rode for the equestrian team and was clearly loved by every person she encountered. She was hit by a pick up truck and passed away this weekend, leaving being hundreds of grieving friends and family. Her memorial service was last night at a Baptist center on campus.

I never met Connie Blount. I never saw her radiant smile except for its frequent appearances in her slideshow, as her friends and family wept. I never felt the joy that everyone says radiated from her being. But as I stood against the wall trying to blend in with the brick that poked into my sweater, somehow she changed me.

I only hope I leave behind the legacy that she did; one of smiles, joy, and compassion. One that can forever change strangers who just so happened to encounter me, whether in life, or in death.

Sunny Day at the Desk

I’m still hobbling around rather ungracefully, but I’ve managed to shoot a little in the past week. Here’s a frame from last week when I was covering the photo desk for Elliott. Some kids were skipping class to kick a soccer ball near my window, so I hobbled outside and shot it until I got stuck on the ground and couldn’t get back up… haha.

An invitation to the Ball

If you’re wondering why I all the sudden became lame and quit posting, its for exactly that reason. I’m lame. I busted my knee playing indoor soccer, and I’ve been on crutches with strict orders to remain in bed unless movement is an absolute necessity. However, I deemed shooting Beau Arts Ball an absolute necessity. Its all about priorities.

I could complain about how I couldn’t crouch low or stand on things while shooting, but whatever, I’m sure Nachtwey’s done more on two broken legs and a hangnail.

Beau Arts Ball was crazy, if you’ve never experienced it I really don’t know how to make you understand. I was on visual overload, and it took me awhile to settle down mentally and start figuring out where the pictures were.

I know I didn’t shoot as well as I could have, and I don’t really dig excuses. But even though my leg hates me for last night and I’ll probably be in bed all day, it was totally worth it. When something is taken away from you thats when you discover how much you really love it. And in the past week of lying in bed with my leg propped up I’ve found that I love this life even more than I thought that I did.