Journal 2 / Doors

A DAY

THROUGH

DOORS CLAIRE SALTZMAN

INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON DESTINATION, I TOOK THE TIME TO ANALYZE WHAT PORTAL I PUSHED THROUGH

EVERYDAY.

[THE ROSES] STOP & SMELL

WHAT DO YOU PUSH THROUGH?

9:00 AM STARTING THE DAY Q: I feel sick. Should I get out of bed?

Should I set my alarm for 30 minutes later?

Should I even work out today?

Should I get up and make breakfast?

VOJ: Go back to bed.

Sleep in and make a big breakfast.

Skip your workout.

R: If I don’t get out of bed and get going I’ll be behind all day. I need to stick to my schedule so I’m not thrown off. Although those thirty extra minutes of sleep seem so tempting,

I’ll be kicking myself for being rushed for the rest of the day. Get out of bed!

L: Getting up only four minutes past my alarm gave me enough time to get out of bed, get going and get out the door at 9 am sharp.

9:05 AM Q: Walking to this car took what seems like hours. Do I really need to go workout? Should I just grab breakfast and hop over to a friends house? Should I turn around?

GET IN THE CAR VOJ: Go back to the apartment. Go back to bed. Drive to Wes’ house and wake him up. Go take a shower.

R: Working out motivates me for the rest of the day. If I didn’t get my workout energy boost, I would be dragging for the next six hours. Go!

L: The car ride isn’t so bad. My favorite song is on and there’s a ton of open parking. Score.

9:10 AM

Q: Why do I work out every day? How many calroies do I burn each workout? How much money should I put in the meter? What should I do today? Tredmill or elliptical? Both? Did I remember everything?

Do I have my headphones? Water bottle? What time is it?

WORKOUT TIME

VOJ: Go easy on yourself today. Just do a quick workout and go home.

You could also skip running and just watch a movie on your iPad on the elliptical. Call it an easy day.

R: If I slack off today I’ll be mad at myself for the rest of the day. Go hard.

L: The workout felt great and I’m happy I silenced my VOJ.

11:45 AM

Q: Should I go pick up my hoodie at Wes’ house right now?

Should I make him give my hoodie back later? Is it really that important?

What if all his roomates are there? Will it take a long time? How many minutes do I have until my class starts? Will I have time to shower? Do I smell?

Should I have given him a heads up?

VOJ: Have him drop off your sweatshirt later. He is the one that took it.

BOYFRIENDʼS HOUSE

R: I went inside to grab my sweatshirt, realizing that nobody was in the house and I could make a quick escape. Getting the sweatshirt wasn’t that important, but I hate lending things out and not getting them back.

L: Stress that I didn’t know was there was somewhat lifted from my shoulders. I had no idea that missing a sweatshirt really took much out of me. Yikes.

12: 45 PM GO TO CLASS

Q: Will my teacher be in a good mood? How long is she going to talk to me for?

How much work do I have to do after class? Did I eat enough for lunch to get me thorugh the day? Did I remember my computer charger? When is the final due? Is there anything I need to do today?

VOJ: Don’t go to class. It’s a waste of time because you’re productive enough out of class. You have nothing new to show her and it’s wasting your time.

R: Although I just sit in class working on my Interior Design work [and sometimes other homework assignments], I can’t ditch a class. It gives me anxiety. I’m glad I went, despite how boring it is.

L: Although I thing it’s tempting to skip class, I never do. I secretly think I enjoy going to class because it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

4:50 PM

Q: Should I just cancel the group meeting? What are we going to talk about?

How many people in my group even participate? How much of a percentage is this project of my grade? Am I going to get stuck doing all this work again? How many group projects have I done in my life? Hundereds? When am I graduating? How long will this meeting take?

VOJ: Make up an excuse as to why you can’t come to the meeting. Submit all your work via email so you don’t get in trouble. That works, right?

R: Although I complete all of my assignments, not showing up is condescending. I find it irritating when people don’t show up to group meetings that have been scheduled for days. I’d be dissapointed in myself. I had to go to the meeting.

GROUP MEETINGS :

L: Although many people dislike group meetings, they happen for a reason. It’s important to show up and be the team member that you want others to be... even when you are completely dreading it!

6:30 PM

Q: Alright, I need to grab dinner.What should I eat for dinner? Should I go back home and eat? Would that waste a lot of time? What restaurants even deliver? Is there anywhere remotely healthy that delivers? Is it lazy to get delivery? Should I just walk? How long will my walk take? Should I call a friend to go with me?

Where have I not been in awhile?

GRAB DINNER

VOJ: Get your boyfriend to get you dinner or get delivery.

R & L : I walked to subway. It was nice out and it was nice getting out of Alumni Hall to walk around uptown. I also think it’s pathetic to get delivery when I’m a 5 minute walk from the restaurants. My boyfriend isn’t my delivery man.

8:30 PM

Q: Should I go over to Ali’s house? Should I be a good student and go home and do work instead? What is she doing? Does she have other people over?

Are they going out tonight?

VOJ: Don’t go over. You don’t know who’s there and if they are doing something you don’t want ot do.

HANG OUT

R: I went over. Not only because I’m a senior and need to live a little, but because I realized who could be over that I wouln’t like. All of Ali’s friends are my friends. I was making up weird excuses to not relax and have fun.

L: I’m always too tough on myself. I worked hard enough the past three and a half years to finally live a little and hang out with friends when nothing is due the next day.

HERO SHOT

I took this photo when I was capturing the doors of Alumni Hall.

Although this isn’t in my photo stream, I consider it my Hero shot because it shows the beauty of a door. Many people consider doors solely moveable dividers that separate one space from another. However, when one looks closer to the architecture of a door, they can realize it takes the form of art. Looking at Alumni Hall’s doors, especially, shows the intricacy and beauty of what went into designing this door.

I was procrastinating going to class, so I decided to capture the door at different angles. I bet if I asked random people what this photo was, a lot of them wouldn’t automatically know it was a door.

I consider a hero shot a photograph that is somewhat abstract; it confuses the eye for a bit because it is unidentifiable. I think that’s the mystery of photography.

Through one lens we can change the perspective of our world.

CONCLUSION

In contrast to my previous photo journal, I wanted to make this one different.

Instead of making the journal about one inanimate object, I decided to make it about myself.

I was the object, but I was not being photographed. I wanted to focus on my typical day- the things I did and what I thought. However, I wanted to primarily focus on the aspects of a day I never think about; the door.

Yes, we all use doors to get form one place to another- whether it is a car door or a door building- or perhaps even a gateway that has no physical door. The portals we enter and exit from are interacted with every day- hundreds of times. But I couldn’t tell you what any of the doors looked like until today.

It’s not about a door, though. Take the time to realize the things in your life that you don’t typically concentrate on. When you are walking, look up. We all could use a little change if you ask me.