Being a college sophomore in quarantine is a bit weird.
We’re not exactly like the class of 2024 — we have experienced glimpses of college life last year: the thrill of being miles from home and among new company and the opportunity to start anew.
But now, due to COVID, many of us are back in our hometowns in our childhood bedrooms and amidst our high school friends and memories, determine to live some semblance of independent and free college life, all virtually. It’s a near impossible task — sometimes I feel like I’ve regressed to how I was in high school at times. It’s a strange time.
I ventured into my Southern California suburb with Ella to translate this odd season of life into photographs. I title this shoot:
Inner Child
The phrase originates from analytical psychology — it’s apparently your true personality or self, which has been altered by childhood experiences, both positive and negative.
I’m not actually sure how academic or valid the “inner child” theory really is, so I would define it as the experiences that have affected our coming of age. I guess my definition is just a fancy word for childhood.
I’m nearly 20 and it definitely feels weird that I’m still in my hometown (at least for the past month or so). As much as college is a fresh start, I can’t forget about inner child and upbringing, nor the people and memories from that era.
Yet, all of these memories are a distant and inaccessible — as much as I reminisce, they can’t be experienced again nor reproduced exactly. The conversations I have with people from my past are sweet and enjoyable, but sometimes I feel as if I am milking and clinging to the past too much.
But given the situation, I can’t help it.
So until life returns to normal, all I can really do now is drive the familiar streets of my youth, remembering all the good and bad that has created my inner child.
