Pictures, mental images and the becoming of “self”
Posted by R.E. Finch on August 10, 2006 at 12:37 pm
I’ll start at the beginning.
The banner image I chose and cropped for this site is a portion of my 1964 kindergarten class picture. In the banner, I’m the shrimp at the far left. This picture is very important to me, and I’ll get to that in a bit. You might notice that I’m the shortest child in the picture; the kindergarten I attended was a two-year program. I was only four years old when this picture was taken, but so were half of the other kids.
Throughout all my years in school, until my senior year in high school growth-spurt, I was always the shortest kid in the class, and usually by several inches. Needless to say, I had to find creative ways to make up for my physical stature, lest I be picked on. I’m sure I’ll get around to describing some incidents regarding my defense of shortness in future posts.
But this post isn’t really about this picture.
This post is about my parents, particularly my Dad. It is about what they gave of themselves to me.
This post is about one moment in time. This post is about what a single incident can do to instill a meaning that lasts throughout a person’s lifetime. This post is about the process of “becoming” that every single soul goes through by his or her own path. And I hope this post makes you think about a cherished memory that at least brings a smile.
This picture, and a couple others from my kindergarten days, are my reminders about how I began to become the person I am today. The mental images I cherish from this time are far more important than the end result of light exposure upon film transferred to photo-sensitive paper. Every time I look at or think about this picture the memories flood back. And it always makes me happy. (Continued)
Tags: Family, love, self confidence
