Peace

It’s not so easy having to drive past Marina Jacks everyday when I go home to Sarasota. Everytime I do so, I am filled with a rush of emotions. It’s such a beautiful place and should be filled with nothing but joy, but some of my past experiences have made this a bit difficult. This is the place where I used to jog with my boyfriend, before our relationship became toxic. The place where the reason for our relationship becoming toxic has also been the reason for a friend of mine’s death, and where a memorial now stands for her.

At first, going past the park makes me miss my ex boyfriend, thinking of all the good times we shared together there. But then, as I pass my friend Brandi’s memorial plaque, a whole other wave of emotions rushes through me.  For Brandi’s sake, I try to view this place with beauty and peace. I try to tell myself that she is happy and healthy now up in heaven; completely drug free.

But then looking at this only makes me think about how my ex boyfriend and my relationship started to take a turn for the worst. Abuse of prescription pills was becoming a huge issue in this small town I grew up in. Ever since my ex got his hands on his first pill, our relationship was never the same again.

Despite all of this dark negativity, I try to look out into the water, past all of this. I imagine a world where everyone is happy; there are no issues with drugs. I look out at the sun reflecting the waves and tell myself that this is Brandi, shinning her bright beautiful smile down on Earth, letting us know that she is finally at peace. I like to imagine her to be in some magical place, like somewhere you would find in one of Dr. Seuss’ books. 

http://haazelton.blogspot.com/

Flowers are a common thing to give to someone on a special occasion. For example, I’m sure many flowers were handed out as condolences in the holocaust. They are also given to people for celebrations. However, some people don’t like to receive flowers because they claim “they just die, so it’s pointless.”  Through Walter Benjamin’s use of mechanical reproduction, however, flowers can be made into something more permanent- like this water lily from this blog- http://steppingoutofthebox789.blogspot.com/ .

 The image I provided below (left) can relate to something similar to what may have been the original of this water lily’s reproduction.  I also provided another image of a reproduction of the water lily. This image (bottom right) is of Claude Monet's "Lily Pond With Bridge." I chose to add this picture because Monet's technique in painting this piece was through lithography, which Benjamin states was a very common technique at the beginning stages of mechanical reproduction. As you can see, the image of lilies here is not as clear as the other two, as this was a common occurrence for reproductions done through lithography. 

Citation of images:

Holloway, Sue. Water Lily . 2013. Photograph. all-creatures.orgWeb. 30 Oct 2013. <http://www.all-creatures.org/works/waterlily.html>.

Monet, Claude. Lily Pond With Bridge. 2013. Painting. icollector.comWeb. 30 Oct 2013. <http://www.icollector.com/Water-Lily-Pond-with-Bridge-by-Claude-Monet-Lithograph_i11144876>.

POWER

During the Holocaust, innocent people were killed for the simple reason of them being Jewish. This picture reminded me of Resurrection man by Eion Mcnamme. It reminded me of such because of the tension that goes on between the Catholics and Protestansts in the book, as well as the fact that innocent people were killed and tortured for no good reason whatsoever. Just as in Resurrection Man, when Viktor Kelly goes around killing people for the fame he feels that comes along with the attention his stories recieve from the media. This image of a gas chamber in Germany represents a place where innocent people suffered and died, simply because the Germans thought they had more power over everyone else. 

From the outside, this place looks very exclusive. Centuries ago, when this castle was built, I’m sure it was extremely exclusive. From the huge surrounding walls of the city, it is clear that not just anyone was allowed in, but it makes me wonder why? Why were people so secretive? I don’t know exactly what one had to do to be granted access into the castle during these ancient times, but compared to how I got in, I’m sure it was significantly harder. Although, it did take quite the effort for me to finally reach this castle and be able to get in. As you can see, the castle is rested on top of a mountain, overlooking the city, so it wasn’t exactly just a hop and a skip over here. 

 After biking up hill I had finally reached the castle and was able to go inside. Though the structure is beautiful, and has amazing views of the city below, I was expecting a little more. I wonder what it was like when people actually lived here. Maybe it had some more elegance to it than it does now. I wonder what the people who used to live here would think of the castle today. I wonder if they would be upset to find out that just anyone can walk right in and explore around. 

( http://musingsfromheretothere.blogspot.com/)

After exploring through Dr. Seuss land, I find my way to a more calming area- the beach. There is some type of little pier looking thing that I like to imagine to be the steps to the future. Walking down the rocks and wooden planks to the water, looking out far into the distance, it makes me wonder what is at “the end.” The water seems to be endless. 

I lay down on the rocks and imagine myself jumping into the water and wonder where it will take me. Just as the ocean looks as if it could go on forever, so does my imagination- the possibilities are endless. I picture myself diving in the water, and resubmerging into a whole new world. Maybe it will take me to another part of Dr. Seuss land, or maybe to a world even wackier than Dr. Seuss Land, a world filled with mermaids and fire breathing dragons. Another side of me is simply imagining myself going to a different part of Spain, maybe one of the spots from the first picture of Dr. Seuss land. I picture myself being in a big plaza and finding the smoke coming from a nearby burning building.

                                        jumping

On another note, maybe                into the water would just be

the

end.            

As stated in “Neon Bible”, “Like anything in this world, there must be an end.”
"Neon Bible"

Madrid, Spain is known for it’s famous bullfighting, flamenco dancers, notorious cured ham, beautiful art museums, beautiful ancient architecture, having and for it’s beautiful plazas. But beyond all of it’s famous, well-known attractions, there are more beautiful mysteries hidden inside the city. Retiro Park is mostly known for it's big monument of King Alfonso XII and it's surrounding pond where people can be found canoeing and mingling with each other.

Monument of King Alfonso XII and pond

I find some of the other surrounding areas, however, more unique. If you wander around more, you’ll find the above mentioned park, which I like to call "Dr. Seuss Land" because it has such unique landscaping that it reminds me of a place that would come out of one of his stories. In Spain, it’s much easier to find a big hunk of meat to eat than it is to find vegetables, which I think may be one reason why I liked this park- because I love my veggies and the trees look like broccoli to me.  From the broccoli looking trees to the statue in the middle of the plaza, to the castle and smoke off in the background, this shows you deep inside Madrid. It makes Madrid look mysterious. Like who lives in the distant castle, and where is that smoke coming from in the background?