I chose these two artworks, "Thank God I'm Home" and "At Home with Family." These art pieces stood out to me the most because I went through not one, but two traumatic experiences in my life. I've lost two good friends in less than two years when I was in high school. I never really spoke about it because I went through depression throughout the years and I am still slowly trying to work on myself from continuing to feel that pain. "Thank God I'm Home," shows a courthouse along with with a pool. But the most important thing that stood out the most was the words. In the second art photo, I saw was "At Home with family," you see the gathering of a family sitting down all having a meal, and they look calm and glad to be all together. And seeing that part made me smile, but also sad at the same time.
When I was in high school, two of my friends passed away. One was shot and the other died of a heart attack. One was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he was 18, still young, and had yet to get through his life. We connected through basketball and I was coaching the team at the time managing them and just helping as much as I can. When he passed away, I went to the candle lighting and his family was there, and his little sister holding the mom saying, "it's okay mommy" made me sob so much because his sister was so young and she didn't know how to feel but to just comfort the mother. The community became silent and it brought everyone together to pay their respects. I was going through a really hard time in school, I didn't eat, sleep skipped school, and didn't want to be around people. I later took some counseling and took some medications that helped me sleep throughout the night. I felt sorry for the family the most. They can't hold or be with their son anymore knowing that he was gone. He had such a bright future ahead and now they can't see him go to the finish line. The school held a contribution to him by inviting his family to pick up a basketball jersey with his number and name on it. I cried and cried knowing that this is it. It is sad to know and see that he will never have the chance to fully live his life and never get to have that family time ever again. He may be in a better place now, but to know that he will never get that chance to be surrounded by his family again, breaks my heart. It is a cruel world that we live in, and nobody seems to do anything about it. Even in the wrong place at the wrong time, you get shot and nobody seems to bother to even try and find out who did it. The police might investigate the problem, but why is it that the family and his friends lose him, and the person that did it is still walking around free. The system is so messed up to the point where they make you believe that they are doing everything they can, but they give up faster than you think. I hoped that the family can at least get some kind of justice by putting the people away that did this, but instead they get to walk around free without question.
By my senior year in high school, I knew that I was going through a lot of pain. I suffered from anxiety and over time I recovered. When that day came, I received another heartbreaking news. I had gotten a call saying that a really close friend of mine was in the hospital. He was still very much alive, I was worried and scared, but I prayed that he would wake up soon. 10 minutes later, I received that call again. He passed away from a heart attack and that was it. I didn't get to say goodbye, I couldn't bear myself to go to the wake of the memorial that was held. That is twice that I have lost someone close to me and I couldn't go through it again. We are lucky to be able to sit down with our families and have dinner. Being able to laugh and surround ourselves with the people we love and that love us. Some of us take that for granted, but we should be grateful for that. For waking up every day knowing that we are still alive and lucky to still be a part of this world.
"Thank God I'm Home," this artwork spoke out to me in so many different ways. It tells a story about someone who was wrongfully accused of murder and spent 10 years in prison. He was then dismissed and the charges were dropped and he was now released. After spending so many years in prison, you forget what the world was like, you missed out on so many things that could've become a memory of happiness. You forget what it was like to walk around the streets breathing in the fresh air and forget the amazing feeling of being around the people you missed. And I believe that this is the message that was being sent. All the time and years you spent in jail, you missed out on so many things, that you are so grateful to have another chance and opportunity to get it all back.
I was friends with someone who I have known for 11 years. He was with me throughout elementary school and it felt as if we practically grew up together. During the summer of 2020, I had learned that he was in the hospital because of a gunshot wound. He was shot 7 times in varies of different places on the body. I went to the hospital that night, I said, "Thank god he is okay and will make it out alive." The next day I had gone to visit his mother that was waiting for me at the hospital, and we both learned that the doctor has found one bullet that was close to his heart when they took a look at the x-rays. The doctor told us that they are trying to remove it as fast as they can before it causes more bleeding. His mother and I prayed in hopes that he will be okay and that they can remove his bullet fast enough. 40 minutes passed, and we finally got word that he is now awake. I went up to go see him, I was so happy that he was okay and that I can't wait until he is able to go home. 3 days later, he was finally out of the hospital and he said to us, "the smell of this fresh air is probably the only thing I was looking forward to." This story might not be similar to the artwork, but it has significance and has a point to it. The point of all this is that you have spent so much time away from the world, and once you are able to see the daylight and your family again, it is the best feeling you will ever have. You are thanking God that you are home because the family you surround yourself with, is home. And I think this artwork was portrayed to show people that no matter what, you need to have faith and that you will continue to wake up every day knowing that you are still a part of this world.
It is a messed-up world we live in. There is so much gun violence that goes on and a lot of the family out there doesn't get the justice they deserve. You count on law enforcement to step up and do something, but I have yet to see any progress from it.
Bell Hooks: "Clearly we cannot dismantle a system as long as we engage in collective denial about its impact on our lives."
Ways of Seeing: "Publicity masks what is happening in the rest of the world. "
Bell Hooks: "there is nothing unique or even exceptional about this traumatic event."
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