blobs of black with wisps of white

blobs of black with wisps of white. that is the best way to describe the first three pictures produced by students in the photography studio. but, alas, i can say, “there are students!” although i am sure that it is a precursor to annoyance, the constant chatter of “PROFE, PROFE (short for professor)” is music to my ears. the rise and fall of it’s melody serves only to remind me of the two months that i spent alone in the studio waiting for students to come. last week, like magic, two came. then four. then seven. they’ve all been back this week, and will hardly leave when class is over. i taught a class of 6 this morning at 9:30... and by the end of my lunch break, they were all lined up outside the door asking if we could have another class.

if i’m honest, the last few months have been difficult. it’s been rather hard not to lose hope, not to wonder if this whole photography studio was just a bad idea, not to think that success is out of the realm of possibility. two months of waiting doesn’t seem that long, but coupled with four months of planning and building, and six months of language school, i was beginning to think that the last year was measuring up to one big lackluster daydream. fortunately, some daydreams come through to fruition. sometimes answers come riding in on a white horse just in the knick of time to tell you that you aren’t crazy, that your dreams are worth dreaming, and that success isn’t always measured in numbers and tangible entities. sometimes it can be measured in feelings. emotions. even the sight of a child using a homemade shoebox pinhole camera.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said,

“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded.”

how remarkably different our world would be if we all measured success by this standard. as for me, i will succeed. as for you, the part that you’ve played in this work (whether prayerful, financial, or emotional) is success beyond that which can be put into words.

these pictures are hope. they are success.

I still don’t know the roads we’ll take, but it seems like we’re heading in the right direction...