Items

• 
  2020-03-01

  Life During Covid

  Life during Covid has been anything, but consistent for anyone. However, I would say that for me and for many others, it was a huge wake up call. When all this started, I was still in my second year at Arizona State University, and truthfully was a bit out of shape which was out of character for me being that I grew up playing sports and being active for the vast majority of my life. As sad as it may sounds, this pandemic woke me up in a way I do not think anything else could have. It gave me so much time that I did not have previously, and I had more time to think, more time to realize the bad habits I had accumulated over the past couple years, but most importantly, more time to act and change. With the help of my brother, who also viewed the pandemic as a wakeup call, I managed to become more active again and become healthier in general. During this time, I also came back to my faith in God. For a long time, I had lost my faith and questioned it, but I never actually researched the questions or doubts I had. I finally had time to do so and in doing so, I realized the truth and fullness that can only come from our relationship to the one, true, living God. I became much happier during this time as, not only was I getting back into shape, but I had mended my relationship with God, and I felt a peace that I had not felt in literal years. Ironically enough, I look back very fondly of 2020 and when Covid broke out. Yes, this time was messy, it was chaotic, it was confusing, but for me, it was a time for reflection, growth, and maturity. I know Covid has negatively affected so many people across the world, and I have been blessed to not have been affected that much by it myself or in my immediate family, but this pandemic truly awakened me. This pandemic brought me out of a depressive, lonely, and unhealthy state of living and I am incredibly grateful for the experience I had.
• 
  2022-02-01

  Patio Sounds

  I never heard the sounds of my backyard and cared – now, it is my favorite sound, and my patio is my favorite place to work. I work in education, in March of 2020 our campus went virtual, and we began to work from home. My two kids, age 3 and 6 were home with me as well. Fast forward to today February 2022, our campus is still working virtually, however my kids now age 5 and 8 are away at school for 6 hours a day; this is the first time in my work history I have been able to work from home, and the first time I have been able to work kid free in two years. Prior to the pandemic, I was a busy person, work, school, kids, home, husband, dog – I did it all – what I didn’t do, was stop and listen to the peace I literally had in my backyard. Now, I sit on my patio from 9:00am to 3:00pm, rain or shine, and even though I am working, I listen and take it all in, I feel recharged to take on all my daily tasks. The calm and quiet time on the patio is much welcomed in the hustle and bustle life can become. Listening to the bird’s chirp, leaves rustle, dogs bark, sometimes the hum of a hummingbird, or the light drops of rain – it is therapeutic. The pandemic has been many things, but for me it has given me time to discover the peace the sounds around me can bring. This recording was taken on my patio, listening to the sound of my backyard as I wrote this description, appreciating the time I have.
• 2020-06-19

  What Do You Do When the World Is Ending?

  If you were around on May 30, 2020, you would know that it really did feel like the world was ending. Cities across the country were ablaze with rebellious fire, police and military covered the streets, bridges were lifted. All this during a global pandemic. To be there to be a part of it all, it felt like the world was ending. So, what do you do when the world is ending? There are many answers to this question and while I chose to answer it in multiple ways, one of the primary answers was this: documentation. I documented what felt like the end of the world. Through words, videos, photographs, tweets. Any way I could. But through documenting the end of the world, I encountered some of the most beautiful moments. Moments of peace, of beauty, of love, of collective and mutual care. One of those moments is pictured here.
• 
  2020-07-17

  Finding Peace Through Religion

  This is a photo of a part of the mosque I attend. This was significant to me because of the impact that religion has on my personal life. I feel as if I have always referred back to religion in my times of need, so when the world was in a very difficult spot, I turned to the thing that always seemed to help me. COVID has turned the world on its head since its arrival, and there seems to be no answer for it. It took countless amounts of lives and left so many others in bad shape. It created a sense of unpredictability for everyone around the world, not knowing if they, or someone they loved, would be infected with it. At the end of the day, it has been something we have learned to live with. As I mentioned earlier, my religion has always proved to be a relieving factor in my life. I would turn to it in my times of need when I felt uncertain of what could happen. In the times we have gone through, my religion has allowed me to voice my concerns and find comfort where I couldn’t find in other places. I always felt as if it was something that I could turn towards. This photo shows a Munara, as we say in Bosnian. It is a pilar that typically sits in front of mosques and allows Imams to call for prayer. When this call is heard, people are reminded to give some of their time to worship. I feel as this pilar can also represent what religion meant for me during the pandemic we were living through. When I see it, I would get reminded to pray and connect myself with God to seek answers for my problems. This would allow me to alleviate my stress and gain peace of mind through prayer. Each person would find comfort in different ways during this pandemic, for me, it was hearing this pilar call me back to something I could not forget about.
• 
  2020-07-05

  Painted rocks on Iron Horse Regional Trail

  These are a series of photos I took on July 5, 2020, of a set of painted rocks I found on the Iron Horse Trail in Danville. The rocks say: "BE KIND" "STRONGER TOGETHER" "DANVILLE GOT HEART" "WHEN THERE'S NO PEACE ON EARTH THERE IS PEACE IN CHRIST" "SRV '20" (in reference to nearby San Ramon Valley High School) "SMILE! 🙂" "EMBRACE THE PAUSE!" "count your BLESSINGS" "Learn from Yesterday" "LOVE has many COLORS" (with a painted Pride flag in the background) "TOGETHER we will PERSEVERE" The rocks are all positive in tone, with a rock celebrating the recently-graduated seniors at the local high school, a rock advocating for queer people, a variety of rocks with generic inspirational messages, and a message urging others to find solace in religion. There is also one rock that references Danville's community explicitly.
• 
  2021-04-14

  Social Distance Powwow - Prayers for All Nations

  Social Distance Powwow is a Facebook page created so Indigenous Peoples can virtually powwow together. Bear Cadman, a member of Dine Nation, submitted this photo of him and wrote "Prayers for all nations. Prayers for peace and healing. Love will win. Prayers for all of you the 5 finger nation."
• 
  2020-08-09

  Dear 2021

  Dear 2021, A promise, once spread out the hope of an uncertain rebirth of life. A light reflected the forgotten words of a mocking society through the shattered glass. We wanted the upcoming year to be full of joy, happiness and as what used to be always, full of social interactions. Upon 2020, nonplussed, we decided to step ahead, having no expectations on how threatening this step would be. At the beginning it seemed like a single country situation, we didn’t care much. Friends still hug each others, terrorism and riots kept on going and so did pollution. A day followed the other, and suddenly a shut down came by. Universe made its call and it was time for it to balance things out. I guess that we, this generation created a massive hustle, impacting the world positively and also negatively. During this strange and silent period, the world is brought to think and reflect. In a population that used to buy, consume and work on a daily base, where Sundays or Saturdays were ways to get a small breath in a suffocating life, a virus came and all of us were suddenly forced to stay at home. An era full of misdeeds and confusion, little human being suddenly did become the possible killer of an elder. Days felt hard, long and the promised hidden light at the end of tunnel was less and less viewable. But a question belongs among us, why is staying at home so fervent, when a century ago our ancestors were forced to kill and fight for the promise of a future peace? Birds were hiding to die, sign of misfortune. Death marks the end of a life, but never the ending of a grief. A new flag was raised and it was a blue mask. A new weapon , hand sanitizer. Eyes brought us back to a time where the information wasn’t easily obtainable, old times of an enjoyable sorrow. In these deep moment, death or illness was accepted, shunned but certainly not forgotten. The concerned families were brought to burry their heads underwater and scream pain silently. A connected generation begged for freedom, to let their hands go and restart living, start back what made us this new generation, the 21st century people. In a way this burning request can be seen as a demand of life, normality or even just a spirit call. Spirit has always made itself more living than simple materialism, so have we learned? Were we ready to grow up, and face the upcoming burdens? Is life going to come back as normal? Dear 2021, be kind to us, to the world. Sinner and Saints, killers and savers, blacks and whites, Homos and heteros, all of us threw a stone, set a margin in this so called life. Coming out from the isolation period, contact were made back, but different. Activities and work took back place, but different. The social system fired back, but different. The difference is not that big, but nowadays hygiene Normas become the main focus of health services; but this slight change is very impactable. I’d like to quote a blogger on this platform named Kristijan,17 from North Macedonia that sparkled the fact : "three things I don't leave my home without: my phone, my wallet and a face mask." back to normal but different. Dear 2021, let this year be brighter and let the human kind learn. we are all humans, so keep us united. From 2020 youth- Elyés Ayadi
• 
  2021-02-12

  New Year, New Hope

  This Year of the Ox is coming in much differently than the Year of the Rat. Last year, with the smallest shadow cast over the new year with news of a SARS type virus spreading through China, we were still able to celebrate normally, and thought those who had taken to wearing masks were exaggerating the seriousness of the disease. We had new year’s dinner with family, the kids wore their traditional outfits to school and fed red envelopes to the lion dancers, the city held their annual parade, and we even celebrated at Disneyland’s California Adventure, with local community groups coming in to perform and celebrate. Whether you say “新年快乐,” “Chúc Mừng Năm Mới,” or simply “Happy New Year,” Lunar New year is a huge celebration in our community and that celebration certainly isn’t happening in the same way this year. However, even though it’s tempting to focus on the fact that we’re sequestered at home and are physically separated from family, friends, and big celebrations, there is much optimism with the hope of the vaccine. All day, my phone’s been buzzing with new year messages, most of which end with “may the new year bring better tidings” or “may this new year bring much health.” Even talking to my in-laws for the new year today had an extra sense of joy, because they shared they are getting their second dose of the vaccine on Thursday. With light at the end of the tunnel, we are able to talk for the first time about maybe being able to see each other in person by the spring. When my son played piano for them virtually, I imagined it won’t be too long until these FaceTime visits will be replaced by the real thing. So here’s to the new year - may we all see health and peace.
• 2021-01-17

  New Year Same Year

  Starting off this year I was dogsitting for a friend. 2020 was hard on me as it was for everyone else in the world but there was something peaceful about ending a year with comforting a bed hog of a dog that was scared of fireworks. Waking up the next day to feed her and go about my first day of 2021 I felt at peace, almost like perhaps this year would be drastically different for me. I'm about to graduate college, we have a new governmental administration that I hope will be more favorable to me, and COVID vaccines are on their way. Then we had an insurrection and I refused to open canvas for the first week of school because every time I tried I was gripped with terror at the thought that this would be my last semester in college meaning that I had to be a real adult soon. There is no functional difference that the exchange from 2020 to 2021 brought to my physical or emotional state. Like everyone else, I'm excited for COVID to be over but I know that the changes I need have to come from myself and won't be ushered in by a new year new me mentality. Throughout 2020 I spent time trying to reach out for help with my mental health and other things I had been struggling with. I think the thing I'm most excited about in 2021 is continuing the work I've started in a world that isn't so hard to be in. I want 2021 to be a year that I am able to spend working on myself and building into a fully functioning member of society.
• 
  2020-11-06

  Protestors in Iowa

  After a lot of protests, the protesters and the government in Des Moines, Iowa sat down and talked things out. As of today they seem to still be trying to work things out, but I am not sure. I do know that they sat down with each other several times.
• 
  2020-10-04

  Jewish Melbourne: Shana Tova and Yom Kippur event from NIF

  New Israel Fund emailed their email list in order to wish them a shana tova, and to send details of an event for Yom Kippur, as well as general information about what the organisation had been doing
• 
  2020-08-15

  hermit HERALD VOL 1 ISSUE 56

  ISRAEL-UAE PEACE
• 
  2020-08-10

  Growth, Gratitude, and Green Babies

  Teddy Roosevelt said, "The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future." As the pandemic and panic seemed to spread wildly across the globe, I found myself turning to my relatives for answers and advice. When specifically in their lifetime did they remember a time of uncertainty? What did they do to maintain a sense of direction, clarity to make decisions, a sense of well being and safety when each day's events are unfathomable? My mother responded with stories of her mother. My grandmother has always been the most resourceful person I know. Growing up in the Great Depression planted seeds of ingenuity and self sufficiency in her, which she continued to cultivate along with priceless experience and knowledge. She recalled people taking responsibility for their situations and security, and doing their best to make the most of what they had, which at the time wasn't much at all. I will never understand the scarcity she faced in that era, but I did experience the eerie alarm that washed over my fiancé and I entering a nearly empty produce section of our local grocery store, then another store, then another store. Almost every store in our small town of Lewes, Delaware had been almost completely panic-bought out of produce, meat, cleaning products, and hygiene products. It was at that time we decided to take a life lesson from Grandma, gain some grit, and get our hands dirty. Early June, we began a basic herb garden to get the hang of being "new parents to green babies" as we expressed it to our friends and family. We soon adopted a couple of tomato plants, bell peppers, red lunchbox sweet peppers, and as of recently, sunflowers. August brought our efforts to fruition when tiny peppers and tomatoes started to develop and today we plucked our first ready to eat hamburger tomato along with a few green bell peppers and scarlet red sweet peppers. Tending our garden has grown more than just invigorating herbs and veggies, but it has cultivated therapeutic peacefulness and tranquility while watering, cleaning, and caring for these little forms of life. We learned first hand the valuable lesson of just how giving and selfless nature is, ex. planting one seed and getting three pieces of fruit in return from that one plant, or planting one bulb which springs forth four blossoms. Giving life and helping maintain that life in something smaller than you grows a beautiful relationship between humanity and nature, a relationship which has become more and more distant. Growing a garden reconnected us to the knowledge, innovation, and self reliance, of our grandparents. It reconnected us to getting outdoors, getting our hands dirty, and getting into a flow state of mental clarity and caring for another living being apart from human kind. It reconnected us to nature, to the valuable lesson Mother Nature can teach us about selflessly giving and sharing, and a reminder of the respect she so deserves and is so lacking in the current state of the environment. I hope our story of our little backyard garden will encourage you to plant seeds of your own, to look to the priceless knowledge and experience of your relatives for advice in facing an uncertain future, and to share your lessons and stories of how COVID-19 impacted your life as well.
• 
  2020-06-13

  Black Lives Matter Collage on Boarded up Shop

  This is a shot in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. It was a week or so after the riots and mid the series of protests. It is an art piece about Black Lives Matter.
• 2020-06-01

  Mad, mad, world

  COVID-19 Black lives matter : June 1, 2020 The news of the riots and looting that have broken out at BLM protests is horrifying. There are so many supremacists, instigators and fame whores trying to remove the message that Black Lives Matter. There also seems to be a misunderstanding in the slogan. All lives should matter. They don't. Black lives matter, too. Despite the agitators, I was so pleased to hear that the Marches in Decatur and cities around were peaceful. Last night, I talked myself out of participating in a March out of fear of violence. The very violence I want to be standing against. I'm disappointed in myself. Age and illness have cost me some of my fearlessness. The Freedom Fighters traveled the segregated South, facing beatings and possible death. Such courage they had. I kept my phone away purposefully today. It seems every hour we have something and strange to react to. Space Launch! YAY!!! Riots! WTF!!?! Two hours later, more info is available that modifies the initial reaction. Then, by the evening, reactions change again after we're bombarded with opinions and news links from social media. We try to get our bearings and then we're confronted with something new and equally mindboggling. UFO's? Barely a mention. Conflicting opinions abound, with no consistency from our state and federal governments. It's hard not to long for the days when I trusted Walter Cronkite and thought the government was looking out for my best interests. Illinois Governor's Kerner and Walker shattered that pipe dream. Watergate ground the pieces into dust. It was another gorgeous day, today. Bright, sunny with a gentle wind. I kept the windows open and putzed around the yard. We found a new home for our old pool. It will have five playful kids enjoying it, rather than sitting in pile outside our shed. It can join it's Toy Story buddies and return to its life as a pool filled with children. I needed to be outside today. Away from humanity. I'm out on my sleeping swing, listening to wind. At times, it almost sounds waves rolling in. The moon is just bright enough that I watched Rocky Raccoon searching for grubs, not ten feet from me. I didn't disturb him. He slowly meandered across the yard. I think a Mama Deer may have a fawn stashed in the ditch across the road. I heard a huff and stomp. Maybe Rocky got too close. The stars are bright and fireflies are all over the place. The other night the grands were convinced they were falling stars. Nights like this, during times like this, I wonder why humans were given dominion of the earth. Then I remember I'm just a tiny grain of sand. A grain of sand that helps forge canyons. I'm grateful I can find peace and calm under Mother Nature's mantle.
• 
  2020-05-18

  Echo Magazine May Cover

  This is the May cover for Echo, an LGBTQ magazine that has been in print for over thirty-years in Phoenix. The cover reflects the omnipresence of coronavirus, from the man in the face mask to articles about finding peace in a challenging time.
• 
  2020-04-23

  Yard Sign and Nova Scotia Flag in Condolence for Mass Shooting

  While in many respects the world has come to a halt in the midst of the pandemic, there are some events of significance which are only tangentially related to the virus. On April 18th and 19th, 2020, the worst mass shooting in Canadian history was committed across several locations in the province of Nova Scotia. As all provinces remained in some degree of lockdown or a state of emergency, the normal mass gatherings, protests, and expressions of grief which would normal follow such a tragedy were impossible. Indeed, the victims could not even have the funerals well attended by the community and media which would previously have occurred. Instead, the outpouring of national grief was largely restricted to digital communication and small physical memorials. Local schools and government buildings lowered their flags to half mast for a week. Several houses in my neighbourhood put printed-out Nova Scotia flags in their windows as an acknowledge. This larger flag was attached to an existing poster-board and wood sign urging others to “Be Kind” and “Stay Safe” took on a whole new meaning. No longer was it just espousing patience and understanding in a time where blame is leveled against individuals and groups, and to stay healthy. Now it promotes the added message of peace (kindness) following violence, and safety when that is not true. The communal grieving process which would follow violence on the scale of that which occurred in Nova Scotia still occurred, but it looked very different.
• 
  2020-04-25

  Nature Prevails

  This is a picture of me in the Central Park Conservancy Tori Gardens. Even in the mist of a pandemic the tulips in the garden are in their full glory. This was one of the first nice days and everyone was out seeking a piece of nature.
• 
  2020-05-03

  REL zoom fellowship in 2020

  REL
• 
  2020-04-29

  Day at The Lake

  This is the road to a family lake near Loris, South Carolina. Built over 60 years ago the road is very worn down and the brush has grown up all around it, but it is still there. I went out there this past week just to clear my head after this past week. During, the Covid-19 season that we are stuck in I have found it necessary to get out and away to a place that you can breathe at. No news, Facebook, or Instagram just you and nature. Trust me it is a good way to keep sane.
• 
  2020-03-10

  Appreciation

  This image was taken by me when I came home from University for Spring Break. At the time, the Covid 19 virus was present but it hadn't forced people into lockdown yet. I have always loved photographing things but the ocean has always been a place of true solitude. When I first saw the picture, I did not think that it would be the last time I saw the ocean for some time. I was unaware and did not appreciate how truly beautiful the picture was. I want this image to serve as a reminder to all that in these difficult times we must appreciate everything in our lives. Whether it be loved ones, a hobby, a food, or even the simplest things like waking up in the morning and being able to experience the sensations and feelings that we feel because we never really know when things may come to end and we want every last time to be a proper farewell if needed. #REL101
• 
  2020-03-29

  Escaping Reality

  This photo was taken on a boat to escape the quarantine. My family and I were going stir crazy so we decided to go out on our boat and take a break from staying inside all day. I took this photo for others to appreciate the beauty of the outdoors. #FlaglerCollege
• 
  2020-04-17

  Tree Limb Peace Sign

  This is the reverse side of the post next to a giant peace sign fashioned out of tree limbs. The post reads "Be kind to each other. #ClevelandHeightsPeaceSign"
• 
  2020-04-17

  Tree Limb Peace Sign

  This post describes an activity related to the peace sign behind it. The post reads "Peace. Please take a power stick. Place it in your yard to remind you of [peace sign] and allow the birds to pick the yarn for their nests." To my mind, this community project shows the need to take actions to combat a sense of futility. Parks are more important than ever in this time when walking outside is one of the only safe ways to be outdoors. It's nice to see the community making an intentional, active use of this park.
• 
  2020-04-06

  Covid 19 Happy Birthday Dance in a Cemetery

  Filmed a birthday dance in a cemetery for a friend and her son. Cemeteries are often a good place to get peace and quiet to settle my manic mind during the pandemic, and obviously presents an opportunity for dark humor.