A Photo Says 829 Words

This is the first project for my journalism class. The purpose of this project was to act as if we were journalists and go interview someone on the meaning of life and do a 800-1000 word essay including a picture on their responses. I also feel that the main purpose of the project was the picture because the project is “a photo says 1000 words.” I learned a lot about different skills when taking photos and I also learned a lot of things about my mom that I never knew and feel like I’ve gotten closer to her now that I realize how much she has sacrificed for me to make sure I live a good life. One of the most difficult part of this project was the writing because I was brain dead for almost 2 days and had no idea what to write.

BKJ, Praying box. (2015)

My mother, Mrs. L. Johnston, was born in Havana, Cuba during the 1960s, but was brought with her sisters to Chicago on May 5th 1966. She was raised in Chicago in uptown. Growing up, she says was awesome because it was different growing up in Chicago and she said that's all she knew because she went through grammar and high school in Chicago. She said she had a great childhood because they were always outside having fun and everything was great. She has good memories of holidays and long summers mostly the summer days when they would open the fire hydrants and they would all play and all the neighbors knew each other and were like family and there were a lot of other kids on her block. Mrs. L. Johnston also recalled some of the not-so-good things about Chicago at the time including the winter weather because she came from a tropical island and in 1966 it was her first winter and there was almost 23in of snow. Eventually, though, she adjusted and we now survive the Chicago cold together; we’re all used to it.

What I have learned from my mom in the past few years is that she is a very strong and caring woman who still finds the light in everything, even when hard times arise. In her own life, she’s experienced some hardships and continues to face certain challenges, especially with her health, but my mom does so without complaining. Despite having her own problems to deal with, including a serious illness, she finds the strength and patience to take care of her children and grandchildren and always has. My mom has spent over three decades taking care of her family and sacrificing her time and health to make sure that her children are clothed, fed, schooled and taken care of. Even though all of her kids are almost fully grown she is now going out of her way to care for her grandchildren.

Clearly, my mom values family more than almost anything. I asked my mom what the meaning of life was and at first she just said “life is to be born and continue living” but then I made her think more in depth and she thought the meaning of life is knowledge because you start learning from birth and never stop learning until you die. My mom has lived a long and hard life and I have witnessed some of the struggles she has gone through. I asked my mom if her meaning of life has changed and she said that it happened when she had her kids because it taught her compassions and to care for others not just herself. My mom said all her life she did not care about anyone else but herself. She told me that she would see bad things happen and even homeless people and wouldn’t pay much attention and basically only cared about herself but when she had her kids it showed her that life is not always just about yourself, sometimes you have to care for others and show love and compassion to others. she said that sometimes happiness comes from making the people you love happy.

At one point during the interview, we both began laughing hysterically, showing how funny being with my mom can be. Out of nowhere, while responding to one of my questions my pet chicken makes a loud continuous squawk that last for about 20 seconds and me and my mom then look at each other and burst out laughing, the laughing continued for about 2 minutes before we both gathered ourselves and continued the interview. Moments like these show my mom's true personality. She is a fun loving person and a strict but caring mom.
 

I took a picture of the buddhist praying box because it is something that my mom values a lot and practicing Buddhism has, in her words, made her a better person. My mom said that when she started to practice Buddhism her life became better and she started to find light in even the worst situation. My mom said something in the interview that made me think. My mom said “I feel like the purpose of me living is to be a guide, teacher, and mother/grandmother because she can guide the next generation of kids in the right directions and be a role model and mother figure for her kid.” When I chose to take my picture I chose to take a picture of one of the things that changed my mom’s life (buddhism). I chose to make it darker to show the bad times of her life and chose to take a picture of the book and buddhist prayer box to show the life change she went through. I feel that my photograph would be a lot better if I had a better camera but in general it gets to the point and shows exactly what I want it to.