licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)
I remember my first trip to Washington DC. I was in 5th grade, and my class and I stopped by the Arlington National Cemetery. It was here that even as young and rowdy elementary students, the class fell silent as we gazed upon thousands of graves lining the acres of land to encompass the cemetery. As I gazed upon the many graves, my 10 year old brain tried and failed to comprehend the reality that each one of these graves held a person who once lived, died, laughed, and cried. Each one had a unique story, loved ones, bad habits, favorite snacks, a song they liked to sing. Even now, I struggle to see these graves as people, as we often struggle to see the importance of each individual person each day. But perhaps it will help to hear them.
I was first drawn to this photo of Arlington Cemetery by its beauty, and due to the fact that it has no humans in it, which makes it even harder to imagine real people. Along this photo, I have attached an audio file of a busy street in New York City captured in 2008. The most populated city in America, New York City stands as a witness to the immensity of life, with millions of people from different backgrounds and walks of life living and walking side by side together on a busy street. Placed side by side, one can imagine each one of these graves as a living and breathing person walking the streets of New York, going to pick up a bagel, running late to work, on their way home to their kids. Any of these people could be a friend, an enemy, or a co-worker given different circumstances. It bears as a stark reminder, life is precious and every person’s life is extremely important. The next time you pass by a cemetery, try to imagine the lives lived by those in the ground. Perhaps you can pray a brief prayer, that they may rest in peace and their families be comforted. And most of all, be kind to those around you. We, as human beings, are trusted with the immensity of life. I pray we live it well.
I like the photo in which you chose the sakura blossom tree, and the graves. The image feels peaceful, the grass looks almost blue like the sky. The sound brings to my mind bustling streets full of activity.
I was startled when I first listened to the audio while looking at the chosen photo as it really sends the message home that these were all people, bustling alive at one time. It also conjures the thought life goes on even after people pass away. I appreciate you explaining your life experience with how you and your class went to the Arlington National Cemetery.
I could also see other audio choices, if this was a cemetery for veterans the sound of gunfire as it would give a sense of how they died. The sound of a choir or a violin could give a sense of peace.
In terms of technical work you did an outstanding job as well, the audio worked and the image is a good size.
Hi Elizabeth, I love the whole story this post tells. At first I wasn’t sure about the correlation between the audio and the photograph, but reading your explanation really made the whole post make sense. I love the meaning that you pulled out of this pairing and I think it serves as a great reminder to everybody. I agree that it is hard to imagine graves as people who all lived their own lives but your post puts a whole new perspective on this. One critique I have is the size of the SoundCloud audio. I don’t know if it’s possible, but making it smaller would put more emphasis on the photograph instead of the audio. Overall, I really enjoyed your post. Great job!!