Friday, July 18, 2014

#2: Flashback

I went to Dubai American Academy for 13 years; KG1-11th grade (93% of my pre-university education). This is the last picture ever taken at that school with my best friend in the entire world, Gab. Living in an expat country where students are coming and going all the time, it was a tradition to have everyone write goodbyes on your uniform shirt with permanent markers to be kept as a memory. At the end of the day, you end up with a shirt that has been massacred with heartfelt messages and ridiculous drawings until there isn't any space left. This picture was taken before the chaotic, tangled web of goodbyes began. The picture provokes a multitude of emotions, ranging from sadness to happiness, and pride to longing.


The most obvious thing in this picture for me is the school uniform. I loved wearing uniforms (although I hated them before I experienced life withOUT uniforms) because with them, I could get away with giving myself only 10 minutes to get ready for school and cram in that extra half hour of sleep that I normally would have to spend finding something to wear. Moving to a public school in Florida that didn't require uniforms made me realize that uniforms are actually the best things ever. The grass really is greener on the other side.


I also feel pride in this picture because I took part in the creation of the approximately 25 x 7 foot piece of art in the background. In art class during elementary school, we spent almost the whole year creating a mural out of tiles that had to painstakingly be broken into specifically shaped pieces in order to form a jungle scene. It pleases me to know that it has been on display for more years than the vast majority of the people I knew even lived in the country for (since everyone is always coming and going).


The most important thing to me in this picture is my friendship with Gab. Our facial expressions clearly indicate the happiness felt at the time of the picture, and our proximity expresses the companionship and friendship we had. It makes me sad that we are now half a world away from each other when we used to be in such close proximity to each other, but it reminds me of our determination to be close again in the near future.

2 comments:

  1. This is a nice picture. I find it cool that it was a thing to write goodbyes on the shirts of people who were moving, it is a neat idea. The fact that this picture was taken before all of this, gives a feeling like the calm before the storm. I also had a similar feeling towards school uniforms, as I wore them from kindergarten through senior year. They really do make getting ready for school a minimal task. It is interesting thinking about how many people have seen this mural and how many will see it in the future. It must be tough growing up in a country where so many people come and go to so many different places, knowing you won’t be able to see some great friends for a long time. I haven’t experienced this much where I grew up and many of my friends even came to UF as well.

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  2. You can definitely feel the friendship between you and Gab in this photograph. The location is also quite telling. Beautiful mosaic btw.

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