On Longing Assignment

"The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale"

This quote reminded me of the mountains and vastness of Kauai, Hawaii. I lived there for a few months during the Summer of my freshman year at Flagler. I remember that everywhere I went I felt so small. The sky at night would be so dark and the milky way would be so visible. Places that aren't so touched by man have a way of putting scale into perspective and help one realize how small we actually are in the grand scheme of this universe.

It also reminded me of visiting New York City and how small the city life makes me feel. 

"Capacity of objects to serve as traces of authentic experience"

This quote made me think of millions of objects in one place is more vast than millions of objects scattered amongst multiple places. This reminded me of a store in my home town, run by a Native American man. He would bring back jewelry and other authentic native objects from his families reserve and sell them in this tiny store. There was so much stuff in such a small space, yet it completely enveloped him, his family and what they stood for. 

"The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental, and the 3d into the miniature, that which can be enveloped by the body"

This quote reminds me of the first home I lived at in St. Augustine my sophomore year of college. Right down the street from me lived this sweet lady Shirley who had the most gorgeous garden. I would run by her garden everyday and always wanted to ask het if she would give me some plant clippings that I could pot. I never got up the courage but I do have this photograph to remember her home by.

"Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss"

This photo embodies nostalgia for me. The wispiness and blur of the ocean water running from my feet. The pieces of home that I long for. The ocean there is different than anywhere else. It's home. 

"To have a souvenir of the exotic is to possess both a specimen and a trophy"

These are photos of my mom's parents who I never knew. It's interesting seeing photographs of them and being able to put my own story to them and how they were. These photographs, a souvenir of them, hung up like a trophy for me to see.