photography
“A photographer’s challenge is to deliver a captured moment – not merely a visual image, but an added experience, perception, story.”
My name is Sahaana Sundar.
I’m an amateur photographer, but hey, you gotta start somewhere, right? I have a Canon Rebel T3i. I normally use the 18-55mm lens, but for zoom purposes, I use the 75-300mm lens.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comments section should you have any.
This past Friday, I decided to have a night of spontaneity. And I scheduled it! And a few weeks prior to this weekend in early April, when a friend asked me if we could hang out, I immediately checked my Google calendar, and asked her without impedance if “May 3rd at 2:00 pm” works for her. She scoffed at my question. “Really?”
My rigorous but average-for-pre-health schedule has trained me to dictate my life through a rigid schedule. Not to say I never procrastinate, but I also cannot live without a detailed itinerary. I feel safe within the confinement of deadlines, and the structure that my planner gives my daily routine allows me to organize the chaos of life. It’s also a bit of a juxtaposition. I like following “rules” but I also like authoring those rules myself. It’s as if I’m both a leader and my own follower. Sounds a bit narcissistic actually!
I’m not entirely sure how to express my thoughts on this matter since to me, this really is as simple as tying my shoes. I simply prefer to schedule all my tasks! I sense this is a rather underdeveloped post so I’ll revisit this topic on a future date when more of my thoughts are organized (oh the irony!).
In any case, below are some pictures of a fantastic concert I went to featuring Jai Wolf.
The start of a new school year is a new beginning. Though my GPA didn’t get the memo to refresh itself back to a perfect 4.0, almost everything else in my life feels like a fresh start. While I appreciate this nth chance I am given to set new goals, reestablish friendships that have been lost to stress, and cleanse my mind for the upcoming year, I don’t believe I fully comprehend the evanescence of these yearly renewals. All I’ve essentially done with my life is attend school and college, and the schedules of these two systems are structured so strangely that students are given a full 3 month break from their own lives.
I initially thought the origin of summer vacation was tied to the antiquated American agrarian lifestyle. It would make sense to free children of scholastic responsibilities during the times of peak farm activity if early America was attempting to encourage farmers’ children to obtain a basic education. But if that was the case, wouldn’t children be most needed on the farms in Spring to plant crops and late Summer/early Fall to harvest them?
A quick Google search revealed that the tie between the agrarian lifestyle and the origin of summer vacation is in fact a myth. In reality, the modern model of a school year was set simply to standardize the academic calendar, and months during the summertime were chosen as a time for break since the climate was unbearably hot and paying for air conditioning units for these months would be economically adverse.
So there was no intent for children to maintain a balanced farm-student life. And unlike today’s expectations, there was also no intent for students to use this time to join internships, or volunteer, or branch out to find their passions. It was as simple as the four rotating seasons that Mother Nature manages.
I’ve deviated, but I thought my find was interesting enough to share. My initial point was that after school and college life, students are expected to find a job and maintain that for as long as feasible, with minimal breaks. There are no more easy fresh starts; at least, nothing as drastic as the refreshment of a new school year. Moving to a different city may count, but that requires a whole lot of uprooting and reestablishing, so I won’t consider that as “easy.” So students, rejoice. You only have a few of these new beginnings left. Make them meaningful, enjoy them, but cautiously. Don’t get used to them because they’re not representative of the real-world and are only ephemeral.
I visited a sunflower farm recently, and it’s school season again. I guess that’s why I connected agriculture and summer vacations and new beginnings.
sahaana sundar