Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Problem of Pain

Heartbreak. It happens to mostly everyone - good relationships gone bad; bad relationships that stay bad; engagements; broken engagements. As humans, we tend to associate memories with certain things or places - you know that one person you think of every time you hear that one song on the radio? You know how you can never drive past that one street without thinking of your best friend who used to live there?

Here I focus on places that are heavily tied to particular memories of mine. This essay was a painful recollection of a relationship gone bad; it was a walk down memory lane. I re-visited locations that I have taken great pains to avoid for a long time, in order to avoid remembering. Here I forced myself to recall certain events that happened in the past, and to see these places for what they really are: just places.


This is where we saw each other for the first time one day in September. It's just a door to one of the many thousands of apartments around town. Nothing more.

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This is where we decided that we were a couple, one frigid morning around 1:00 in January. Thousands of people have sat here; it's just a bench. Nothing more.

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This is where we first held hands. Someone drove by and screamed, "Just kiss her already." We both smiled at each other and later we did kiss. Feet drag up and down these steps everyday. These are nothing more than stairs to a nameless building.

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This is where I told him I loved him for the first time - we were surrounded by flowers and it was Spring. Later I wrote a song about it. This is just a stone bench. Nothing more.

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This is where he told me he wanted to wanted us to spend the rest of our lives together. Then we talked about our children that would never come. This is just a creepy statue that I still don't understand. Nothing more.

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This is where we broke up. I sat on the left side; him on the right. It was late at night and our conversation was not one of my happier moments in life. This is just an uncomfortable table that can only be used a few months of the year. Nothing more.

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18 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. wow. i really appreciate the honesty of this piece

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  3. Kristen, this is a really beautiful project. It is strong and touching and very well executed. Thank you.

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  4. Bravo to you for doing this. Because of your story, these pictures just have so much meaning to them. It's like I can see a kind of shadow of what used to be there. Very moving!

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  5. This is one of the most moving photography pieces i have ever seen... ever. Thanks so much for sharing this with us. You're honesty with yourself and the way you chose to share it with us is inspiring. Thanks for that.

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  6. To me, the process of doing this series is even more important than the final product. Bravo for facing those uncomfortable memories!

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  7. Like everyone else has said, this project is great because it's so honest and the pictures are really simple, which goes perfectly with your idea. I do have one question: did this project help you think of these places as just memories, or are they still painful? I like how this project pulls the viewer in. I imagined myself doing this, and I pictured my own places I avoid.

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  8. Your post simultaneously embodies my greatest fears and my greatest hopes...fear because of obvious, but hope that at some point I'll have the courage to do what you did.

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  9. Wow...I really enjoyed the story and the emotion that you put into it. Thank you for sharing this experience with us.

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  10. I loved this piece. These places are all so much more than the simple photos you took of them. The juxtaposition of these ideas, their desolateness says so much. Really, really beautiful.

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  11. This is a real case where the text is critical (obviously). My first glance, I wasn't very excited at the prospect of looking at this. But the history, the vulnerability of presenting yourself through these locations was a deep experience. I applaud your candor, because it's what made this project amazing.

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  12. great how you made yourself so involved. its very personal, and very believable.

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  13. Wow, that was rough. Great essay, I essentially echo the above comments, but I'd love to see another just like this in the future with a happier ending.

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  14. I love this idea because even though they really are just empty places, you can tell from your text that they really do evoke strong memories. You are brave to share such emotions.

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  15. Great job! The story does make the pictures so much more meaningful. Sometimes the best way to concur fear is to face it. Great project.

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  16. great concept, nice and introspective.

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  17. I, like everyone, love this project. It's personal to you which means it really resonates with other people. One of my favorite concepts of the semester

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