We Just KEPT TRYING

There once was a summer that tried to take every thing away from us. Leaders in our world, family of all ages, places that we felt were sacred, things we didn’t realize we touched as much as we did, hope, faith, strength, kindness, and the warmth of hugs. But, instead of giving in, most of us did the most radical thing we could do during this time: Kept Trying. We had professional photoshoots through windows. We held virtual music concerts and poetry slams. We constructed family meetings over FaceTime. We changed laws and lives by walking the streets with strangers. We fell in love from a distance, literally. We meditated and had church online as one, from different countries. We redecorated stores and communities with powerful artistic messages. We reinvented ourselves and the way the world has been shaped. We. Did. That.

But. One of my favorite things that we did during this frenzy is we opened our tightly shut doors, and we went back to parks. Now I know it doesn’t quite compare to thousands in solidarity demanding justice for Breonna Taylor in the streets, but it does hold another special place in my heart. This is because parks bring me the joy that keeps me going.

As I took pictures of me and my bestfriends in the park just freely playing together again after months of separation, I didn’t realize that this is truly a pivotal time in history for them. And I’m thankful that I didn’t have this realization until later, because I think it would’ve destroyed the freeness of the shots we captured. In these pictures, is a time where thousands are dying from sickness and racial injustices. Day after day. It’s also a time where there are kids still wanting to just be kids.

Kids under the age of five still figuring out how to control their fingers, and go a full day without repeatedly bumping their head’s on immobile objects in their homes. Kids who still look at the leaves on a tree dance, and wonder what is making it move. Kids who are wearing a mask because they think it looks cool to have a Spider-Man logo on, and not necessarily because they completely understand what a Corona or a virus is right now. Kids who may not know why there are so many people sad, but understand that kind words can be helpful to anyone feeling down.

The direction for these pictures was simple: What does it look like to have fun at our favorite park? Looking at them, you can’t tell that there’s a world on a balance beam constantly altering from “having it altogether” to “about to fall on its face.” That‘s the art I love.

A kid having fun looks like playing freely with a favorite toy (or babysitter), or reading a favorite book for the 100th time with the same excitement as the first time. It looks like a two year old throwing their head back in joy, while being pushed towards the sky on a swing. It looks like still doing the things that bring you care, in the safest way possible. Because no matter what is happening, at any moment. Your heart and mind are extremely important. We don’t have the luxury of not fully knowing what’s going on in the world. Still. We must take deep breaths, take a second, and take a seat. We have to think about something that we want to do or need to do, to feel like ourselves again and find a safe way to do it in the chaos. We may be experiencing spontaneous changes, but that doesn’t mean we need to forget about who we truly are and what we need to be happy. Or finding out those things now, if we never thought about it before.

Start the blueprint to create your business, read that book, go for that walk with your mask, learn every recipe in your cookbook, become the person you dreamed of being and always stopped halfway! This is your time. But, if you’re feeling alone and away from your favorite people, you can reimagine your relationships. There’s so many apps to create a group chat with family, you can exchange funny videos with your friends, or even send food deliveries as spontaneous gifts to the people you love. When’s the last time you wrote a letter?! Maybe try that too. Just keep trying. Please.

As for me. I’m going to spend as much of my time as I can now, outdoors being the big kid that I am...

Socially distanced...