The last year and a half has been really, really hard, from being kicked off campus at the end of junior year, to not living near my closest friends all summer, and then not getting to step foot on campus during the entirety of my senior year. But I think perhaps the biggest thing I learned is what a real silver lining is. I don’t think I’ve used this term nearly as often in my 22 years of life than I did during the heat of the pandemic. 

When I was in my childhood home for 5 months, I couldn’t help but think about what my thesis would be about. And that topic would not have come to me without that uninterrupted time to think. I always knew that I wanted to create a photobook but I never thought that I would have been photographing abandoned spaces. Sure, I was fascinated by this concept but I didn’t realize how interesting forgotten places were before this year. They are beautiful, and no one will convince me otherwise.

In the aftermath of the pandemic, practically every business shut down; places were completely empty, places that we could never have imagined to be vacant. It was crazy. So, while people were disappearing from cities, I thought about other places that were neglected but had nothing to do with the virus. 

Originally, I had a goal to create two books, and while this did not happen this semester, my hope is to continue creating work, maybe another book, or three, and find so much more inspiration as I start life as a college graduate. 

I can’t even believe that this project is finally complete but I’m thrilled to be finished and to share my book with everyone.