I’ve been a fan of photography for a while. I got pushed into being the “Historian” for a couple of organizations in the past, not because of my awesome ability maintain great records on paper or because I’m extremely committed to things (since I’m probably neither), but because I take lots of pictures of random stuff.
Street photography, also known as a mild form of stalking strangers (what ever that means), is one of my secret hobbies. A street photographer attempts to capture life as it is, without fake smiles and without any poses that will make your boobs look bigger. A photographer showed me a picture of myself and a friend while we were sharing a nasty piece of tiramisu outside of a dessert place, and I felt like it really caught our personalities on a screen. I could tell he was a little nervous about letting us know what he captured, but we knew that privacy went out the window once we left our private homes and ventured into public space.
From people picking their noses, to capturing some fights about to break out, and people laughing at themselves laughing (whoa, that’s some Inception crap right there), it really calms me down. But of course, that comes with a share of awkward moments.
1. I forgot to turn off the flash on my camera one time, and it even went off with the red-eye light thing too. It was a person feeding the ducks. He quickly turned my way and adjusted his posture.. and I missed my shot. Posing ruins it.
2. An older woman called me a perv for getting down, belly-on-the-sidewalk status, in order to catch some leaves dancing around the sidewalk. I know, not very discreet on my end, but sometimes you just have to get on the ground, you know?
3. A couple of drunk girls asked me to take their photos out on the sidewalk once. So I asked for their camera, and they said they didn’t have one, and their cell phones were dead. Trying to be funny, I pretended to take out an imaginary camera and “snap” their photo. They said thank you over and over, while I just stood there, and they stumbled away. Uh, what?
All photos here, along with the ones on instagram.com/edwincov are taken with an iPhone 4S.
See, to be honest with you guys, things just happen. I don’t consider myself to be an awkward person.. but we all seem normal to ourselves, I guess, right? I’ve been spending a few years now searching for something that I enjoy doing for its sake. I’m actually beginning a new blog on just that: What to do with our lives.
Every single one of my friends can probably tell you that I have been wondering about purpose for quite some time. I ask them what they want out of life, I ask them about their future, about their wants and needs. It started a while ago, when I discovered what working in a cubicle actually meant. I started questioning everything and went into deep confusing and frustrating times. It has been almost 5 years since it all started, and my eyes keep opening up.
Do I really want to live tied down to a job where I have to ask for permission to go see my family?
Will I ever be able to go out and enjoy my time on a Monday morning?
I can’t seem to focus on what I’m supposed to be doing, am I just dumb?
I watched some movies, I read many books. Took legit college courses. I bothered my friends. I talked to almost everyone who would be willing to listen. I spoke with professionals, pastors, old friends, and business owners. You’d be surprised to know how many people have also felt this way, and out of that particular bunch, you can tell the obvious difference between those who settled, and those who kept questioning and chose to follow their ideas. You probably already know which group had it “easier”.
Some of you guys have already found my new blog somehow, but it isn’t quite ready yet. I’ll still be here in awkward land, where the sun shines bright, and farts are announced with pride. I’ll actually be announcing it here on Monday morning.
Just out of curiosity, have you felt the same way?
What advice would you give to someone in this position? (In the comments below ↓)
