Friday's Top Five: Favorite Photos

Looking at photos absorbs a lot of my time at work. I need photos to post on Facebook, on the blog, and on the website. I use photos in printed material, and I hunt down just the right photos to support magazine and newspaper articles.

Over the years of searching through thousands and thousands of digital photos on file, I’ve smiled at a lot of them and outright laughed at many. Some have made me scratch my head and a few have made me shudder and hit the delete key. Smiling around a mouthful of spaghetti is never someone’s best moment.

But there are some that make me stop and stare for longer than I should on a busy work day. I stare and my eyes burn a bit with tears. I stare and the skin on my arms prickles with goose bumps. I stare and give little pieces of my heart away. I stare as the photo tells me stories and I remember…

Those are the best kind of photos, aren’t they?

My favorite photos might speak only to me, I don’t know. But I want to share them with you today and tell you why I let time slip by when I look at them.

Photo taken by staff photographer

1.       This photo of Melissa was taken by staff when the Culinary Arts students were visiting a professional kitchen. I wasn’t there when it was taken, but it was sent to me following the visit. I fell in love with the picture as soon as I opened the file. I don’t know if Melissa was preparing her mise en place, or if she was given the pan of fruit and parsley to garnish dinner plates, or if another student was off to the side with his carefully filleted fish to add to the pan. I just know that the photographer managed to capture Melissa’s sweet personality as well as her sense of pride in her accomplishment in the moment the shutter snapped.

Photo by Ellen Cook Photography

2.       This photo is of a bunch of college guys goofing around and laughing - just like you would see on any other college campus.  And that’s exactly what makes it so cool! I remember walking with the photographer and her assistant on the day this photo was taken. The guys started acting up in front of us and the photographer jumped into the fray. As the assistant and I watched the photographer taking picture after picture of guys being guys, the assistant turned to me and said, “This place isn’t what I expected.”  I knew what she meant by her smile. I too once thought that a school for people with intellectual disabilities must be a sad place, filled with struggle and hopelessness and slow-moving people. That was before I came to work for Shepherds. You can see by this picture that Shepherds College is filled with students that have a good time, ham it up, exude energy, make friends and know how to laugh. This photo challenges the stereotype of people with intellectual disabilities.

Photo by Ellen Cook Photography

3.       I have a love/hate relationship with the guitar. On the hate side, I played guitar from the ages of 10 to 15 years old. My first instructor kept telling me to “Get those chubby fingers moving! Move those chubby little things!” No girl wants to hear that...ever. That relationship didn’t last long. I had a crush on my next instructor so naturally wanted to impress him. Since I didn’t have a clue what I was doing yet, that particular goal was difficult to pull off. I knew all my tinny plink, plink, plunking on the strings wasn’t enough to warrant a return crush. I felt deflated. My mom must have known what was going on because one day I went to lessons and had a female instructor. I admired her tremendously, especially her beautiful, long nails. And that was the end of my guitar-playing years. I wanted long fingernails, I couldn’t figure out how to press down on the strings with them like she did, so I quit. I just didn’t have the passion to stick with it. 

On the love side, my husband is very passionate about the guitar and plays it all the time. The instrument is as much a part of our relationship as our kids are. When I see this picture of Sam, I see the same joy on his face as I see in my husband.

This photo makes me feel blessed because I’m always surrounded by beautiful music. It makes me feel disappointed that I was too vain to continue lessons. When I look at it, I sense a guy just loving life, content to take whatever may come. I see Sam’s personality and skill, not his disability. This picture is like a personal, multi-faceted story told in one stunning picture just for me.

Photo by Leibforth Photography

4.       When Rachel first came to Shepherds, I couldn’t get her to look me in the eye.  When I brought in a professional videographer, she couldn’t look at the camera and, in no uncertain terms, told the videographer to leave her alone. After three years at Shepherds College, Rachel eagerly posed for this picture. During those three years, Rachel blossomed into a beautiful, confident young woman filled with charm and whimsy. This picture speaks to me of growth and transformation.

5.       I’m cheating a bit on this one (see the blog on integrity). I couldn’t decide which one I loved more, and since both pictures were taken on the same day, I thought I would just call it a tie.

Photo by Ellen Cook Photography

These girls are Nikki and Gloria, two of our first graduates. They were friends throughout their time here – they loved and laughed and fought and made up. They struggled and learned and encouraged and cried. They went through a lot together. When I see Nikki looking up at Gloria, I imagine what she’s silently saying to her - “We did it!” “I love you.” “Thank you for being my friend.” “It’s over now.” “Will I see you again?” I hear more of her heart conversation every time I look at this picture.

Photo by Ellen Cook Photography

And this is Brian, another of our first graduates. I walked all over campus with the photographer on the day of our commencement. I saw Brian’s excitement as he put on his cap and gown. I heard him encourage his classmates in their fears and listened to him pray with them as well. I saw his nervousness as he rehearsed his speech. He told me about his excitement and uncertainty, but his determination to face the future with confidence. I then saw the elation as he accepted his certificate, and his sadness at saying goodbye to all the people he had grown close to in his years at Shepherds College.  This photo is a beautiful collage of everything Brian was feeling that day - mixed up, naked emotion. 

I hope you saw something meaningful when you looked at these pictures.  Maybe they stirred memories or sparked feelings or taught you something you didn’t yet know – about people with intellectual disabilities, or even about yourself.

These pictures tell the stories of growth and achievement and success. They are the story of Shepherds College.

 

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.