I did this writing activity where you had to picture an object in the room you are in and write about it without looking at it. So here is what I wrote:
The object that I pictured in my head is a photo of me when I was a baby. It is sitting on a shelf above the computer desk and it is surrounded by many books and other photos. This object is in a small picture frame which I think is silver. It’s a picture of me in a high chair at our old apartment in Philadelphia. I have a blue and green bib on and I am smiling, with food all over my face. I have lots of black hair. I think this picture was taken when I was around 1-2 years old.
This picture makes me wonder about my past because when you think about it, it is impossible to remember that far back. I think the earliest I remember is preschool, and even that is unclear. Just a few days ago my mom and I had a conversation while looking through old pictures. She said that she misses me as a baby. Then, we got into a conversation about how technically, that baby is gone forever, and it will never come back. It’s kind of hard to explain, but I guess what I’m trying to say is, that since time only moves forward, we should make the best of every second we have, because we will never get time back.
We have lots of videos of when I was younger. My parents always talk about how we should’ve taken more videos, because we love watching them. Like I said earlier, my memory is short so all I have left that tells me about the past are stories, pictures, and these videos. I don’t know why I enjoy watching them so much. It’s fun to see what our family was like then, and how much we’ve changed. One thing that hasn’t changed though is how much of a happy, loving family we are.
I also wonder about my future as I watch these videos. I think about what my reaction would be to watching these videos as an adult, rather than now as a teenager. I’m curious about what I will be doing and where I will be doing this. Right now I want to be an author, but who knows what will happen? The future really isn’t that far away. But right now, I’m going to focus on my life in the present, and make the best of it.
This particular picture brings up a question for me. What was going on in my mind that I smiling about? I think I have always been a happy girl. Most of the time I am smiling and have a positive attitude. I think that just being able to smile is a gift itself. At Young Naperville Singers, I learned this: Even if you are not happy, fake a smile, because soon that smile will turn into a real one. To me, that statement is very true, because even if I’m not in the best mood, smiling and laughing always cheers me up.
As I was writing this, I realized how amazing it is that just one simple picture can bring up all of these thoughts. Just by taking the time to examine something small, you can learn a big lesson.
