Photography. Not my area of expertise.

Warning: This will be a little different...

So the past couple of classes have been dedicated to photography. Am I good at photography? No. Am I decent with photoshop? Yes. The kid sitting next to me definitely knows photography and photoshop.

But in complete honesty, to me personally, the idea of photography simply depresses me. One might ask, "Why would the art of producing beautiful photographs make you sad?" There is a simple answer. By saying it, I will most likely paint a pathetic picture of myself, but oh well. I am a person of association and strong emotions, and when I am reminded of something from my past, I struggle with it.

My ex-boyfriend of over two years was incredible at photography. As a freshman at Notre Dame, he already was on the field for football, basketball and soccer games making great pictures. Now, in his junior year, he is the Photo Editor of the newspaper and covers everything from lectures and speeches to athletic events to simply photographing the beautiful campus.

Not only does he make wonderful pictures at school, but fills his time outside of school(breaks and summer) with photo shoots of our friends and the surrounding area. In accompanying my family and I on vacation three times, he took some of the most breathtaking pictures of Corolla, NC I have ever seen. Together we did many photo shoots and he attempted to teach me how to take worthy pictures on multiple occasions.

As dumb as this all may sound, I was absolutely in love with him and even now, 9 months after breaking up, I still am. He was my first love and will always be a part of me. Therefore, when I spend multiple classes learning about something that he feels such a burning passion for, it simply makes me feel nostalgic and sad. I miss him and miss seeing his love for photography among many others things. These past couple of classes have made me revisit this after I had worked so hard to push it from my mind.

After taking that little trip down memory lane, it can be said that this is merely another instance of not knowing the many deeper thoughts and secrets of those around you. How many other people have some sort of odd connection to photography or other things we will eventually learn in class? What are others' thoughts? How well do people hide their emotions? I know I hide mine very well. But like I said, this is just another way of showcasing the fact that we have much to learn about each other. We might not learn much of personal lives, but it is comforting to know that at least one other person throughout the course of the class will probably have some sort of deep thought in relation to the curriculum that is not to be revealed.