By Aydin Manzanares, Staff Photographer
Hello dear reader, my name is Aydin Manzanares. I'm a photographer among many things. Let me tell you about an experience I had recently.
On this particular chilly night, I was with a friend on top of a dam in Cherry Creek, CO. It was cold, I could see my breath and I could feel the frigid air pierce my lungs. I stood there on a narrow walkway just off the road clicking the shutter and messing with the camera settings as cars rumbled by. My hands were numb, and my mind was blank.
Click, click, click. I looked down at the final picture I decided to take that night which is the one you see displayed here. I gazed at the photo with glassy eyes. I had captured the passage on time. The taillights of a car stretched across my tiny screen. It got me thinking about things in my life; my time spent here, at home, at school. "What am I doing?" echoed across the space in my mind. Suddenly I felt as though I had taken it all for granted. The stress of things I had put off suddenly gave way and came upon me like a violent storm. My grades, missing assignments, people I forgot to text back, money, my job. Everything all at once.
The passage of time. Photo by Aydin Manzanares
My breaths became shallow, and I was ripped away from the world upon which I stood into a tangible darkness. I was paralyzed by the anxiety that gripped my throat like a vice. What have I done? I've wasted all my time, and now I don't know what to do. The responsibilities I held began to crush me under their weight. A hand reached out from the darkness and rested on my shoulder, "Hey, you ready?". It was my friend. "What?" I replied. "Are you ready to go?". I just nodded my head. The entire ordeal felt like a distant dream. We got in his car and drove off into the uncertainties of the future.
I tell you this my dear reader in hopes to sway you from taking things for granted like I have. Put simply, live in the moment but prepare for the future. I wish you the best. Goodbye for now.