CNF Exercise 1 -- Ciera Yamarick

As I reminisce upon this picture, I see all that's in and around its edges. It takes me back to the days of summer where life was simple and soft while the sounds of the city roads still echo around the grey walls of my bedroom. The warm breeze engulfed my being as I gazed upon such beauty that can't be found in cornfields or alleys. In front me lied this tower of glitter and decadence that was surrounded by the lives of people from all corners of a bookshelf. I see the groups of friends being in touch with their community while couples felt the heartbeat upon each other's chests on the dry grass. You go a little bit farther to the right of the image and it would pan out to a man proposing to his girlfriend as the Eiffel Tower lit up in sparkling fireflies. It's a vulnerability to look into the complexity of moments caught rather than moments online. The essence of human touch and presence has faded into a societal expectation, but it's quickly turned into a privilege in these recent days. Being able to hop on a plane to Paris and be swallowed within masses of people to see wonders as such remain in the photos on our phones instead of our line of sight. We are left to have nothing but appreciation for such breeze through our spines when we touched and saw what we used to so easily acquire. To follow the reality we live now to get back what we used to have needs to become normal. But for now, I sit with my phone in hand looking at photos like these where physical community was once thoughtless.