elise golightly

It’s been one year since my grandmother’s death

And it’s strange. My mother and I just skyped with my family in Korea to partake in a Buddhist bowing ritual that consists of making a gigantic meal for the deceased to enjoy. It was amazing to see my family, people that I have never met in person but am so grateful to have in my life. My mother, understandably, cried uncontrollably but it was as though my family was right next to her consoling her. I can’t explain my gratitude towards technology for bringing my family together from across the globe. It devastates me to think about the fact that my mother was unable to see her family for twenty years, and was only able to communicate via letters and calling cards. With the iPad and Skype, my mother was allowed to have an actual conversation with my grandmother before her death, and that’s something that is priceless.

I’m going to try to win the Miss Sparta pageant to gain enough money to send my mom to Korea. She deserves to see her family.

19/5/2013 . 1 note . Reblog

18/5/2013 . 89,981 notes . Reblog

vamonos-pest:

Extraordinary photos of young hitchhikers and freight train hoppers by Mike Brodie

Mike Brodie(tumblr | facebook) first began photographing in 2004 when he was given a Polaroid camera. Working under the moniker, The Polaroid Kidd, Brodie spent the next four years circumambulating the U.S. amassing an archive of photographs that would go on to make up one of the few, true collections of American travel photography. Having never undergone any formal training, he chose to remained untethered to the pressures and expectations of the art market

18/5/2013 . 59,362 notes . Reblog