Where do you feel most like yourself?
‘clouds’ polaroid photo shot with my sx70 camera and artistic TZ film stock
unphotographable ~ the responses that moved me to my very innermost being when I asked my grade seven students in the photography class I am teaching (open to exposure) “where do you feel most like yourself?’ which is their assignment to photograph this week ~ I cannot WAIT to see the photo’s they shoot
~ ‘actually the place I feel most like myself is a time of day ~ at night when it is dark and quiet and I can be alone with my thoughts peacefully’
~ ‘it’s more of a mood where i feel most like myself and it sounds a bit strange but I love to be down at the beach when it is raining and warm out and i am just wearing a tee~shirt and I look up into the sky while the rain splashes on my face ~ it feels so free somehow’
~i feel most like myself in the evening walking in my neighborhood when it is dark, but you have a soft glow from the streetlamps and I have my headphones on listening to music
~I feel most like myself at camp, it may sound funny but there is something about the moon at camp that is just so beautiful
~Oh, I feel most like myself on stage in drama class ~ you may think I am acting but actually that is the real me but no one knows that, and I feel like that is where I am most myself
~I feel most like myself in the art studio because the teacher let’s us choose freely what we want to paint and I just love being there
~ My Dad and I go canoing and it is so beautiful and peaceful but there is a specific moment I love and somehow think about often which is when I put my hand into the
water and we drift along ~ i feel most like me in that moment
~ In the mornings my Mom and I sit on the front deck and we can see the ocean. We always have tea together and it is just her and me and we watch the sun come up and one day it was really this perfect line of pink and that is when I most felt like myself
This week ~ was perfect in every way and I am so grateful for the honor of teaching these tremendous and artistic little souls ~ and somehow I can just tell already that is really me who is the student, and once again I am reminded that love is indeed all around.
Where do you feel most like yourself?
Have a gorgeous Sunday ~ and a heavenly helping of clouds
category: everyday magic, open to exposure, small wonders, wonderfulness, yes! | | 13 comments »
January 23rd, 2010 at 10:43 am
maddie, this post is a gift to me this morning. really. thank you.
i feel most like myself when i am standing watching the rhythm of the waves of the ocean (or the sound) and i am pushed out of my rambling thoughts and am tied to the ground beneath me and the world around me. i find myself remembering to breathe deeply and knowing i have all i need.
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Yes, these kids are soulful. As a kid, I felt most like myself, when sitting with my dog beneath a tree.
Today, I love the tranquility which the sea offers. A wide open expanse, opening out to the horizons and letting you open your imagination and your senses to new explorations. I am back in Mumbai and can view the sea. In Bangalore, which is landlocked, I loved looking at the vast expanse of the sky.
January 23rd, 2010 at 11:02 pm
Although I too love the water, and have lived near it all my life, I feel most myself when I am curled up in my bed, with a steaming mug of tea next to me, reading a good book. This is when my mind settles down and my thoughts and feeling come into focus.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:34 am
I just found you…your site takes my breath away…thank you for shining your light!
January 25th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
In China, I feel most like myself. Helping children and animals makes me feel most like myself and last but never least, holding a sword in my hand makes me feel most like myself. Thanks for sharing these sweet Maddy.
January 25th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Wow, some amazing and perseptive comments there.
I feel most like myself when it is quiet, and I can string two thoughts together and have a pencil or camera in my hand to create my own little universe.
January 25th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
i’m not so uncertain that these 7th graders thoughts are my own thoughts. given their you age, this is incredibly insightful on their part.
i have had most of these same feelings in similar places. the hand in the water, the sea, the rain, the ocean. i guess that the water is where i feel most like myself. with my camera. with beautiful things to photograph.
thank you for sharing these.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
I feel most like myself when I am by the ocean, with my husband and son, and taking pictures.
January 25th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
when i went into this class….I thought that the response to this question would circle around their bedrooms being that space/place where they would have most freedom to be themselves
and from there I was going to introduce them to abstract concepts
of space/time/mood
so when the very first response when I opened the discussion
was “it is actually more of a mood…”
and all the rest followed since clearly this is simply where they were
all along
….i had to stop myself literally from crying I was so moved and
filled with joy
and then I had to quickly swim into their ‘deep pools’
and the energy was ELECTRIC
thank goodness i had references and films (the concept that
photography should have a feeling of movement)
but
here is the thing
these children are taught the fine arts in their elementary school
since grade one in equal measure to the academics
(art, music, drama, dance)
so they were raised with the gift of opportunity for self expression
in this class as well
there is a feeling of safety which is due to the unconditional love and respect they receive from their teacher
they feel safe and encouraged to express themselves this way
January 27th, 2010 at 4:28 am
Amazing responses!
I feel most like myself when it´s windy and I can feel the wind on my face and when we were looking for a house to buy the first thing that made me feel home was that the house was on the top of the hill and very windy! That was the sign and we bought our new home…
January 27th, 2010 at 10:26 am
I feel most like myself when I am covered with an afghan, curled up on the couch with a good book. Think I’ll go do that right now
January 27th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
what a good question, and very easy for me to answer…I feel more like myself when I am at the beach. Eather walking , swimming, floting, reading a book or just watching the waves and feeling the ocean breeze. It relaxes me just thinking about it. Growing up in Northen Chile made love the ocean so much that it feels like part of me…I miss it!
January 27th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
You gave them a window of opportunity and they took it farther than anyone can imagine. I love the beauty and freedom in children. It must have been a crazy natural high to be in that room as it unfolded. You lucky lady.