Earlier this semester, the day I had been waiting for finally arrived: the first screen-printing project in Color and Form. I was excited to finally dive into a medium that I had heard much about but never been able to use. However, the assignment itself was rather challenging—I was to create a poster, using only imagery, that showed a problem in the world, how I would change it, and the result of what I would do. Several obvious things came to mind: energy, nature conservation, recycling, etc. The problem was that I couldn’t seem to figure out how to depict what I was already doing in those areas using imagery. Sure, I could think of plenty of “call to action” type posters, but when it came to showing what I was doing or would do, ideas didn’t come so easily. In spite of this, I kept coming back to something I have wanted to do for a while. At some point in my life, I would like to take time abroad as a photojournalist of sorts, raising awareness about social justice issues while helping those in need. Some people argue that doing such a thing has little value, but I think that oftentimes there are many international tragedies to which we, as a nation, are unaware or inattentive. Even when we do know of such things, it seems to remain as an abstract concept in our minds until we are confronted with an image of a skeletal, starving child or weeping woman grieving the loss of her son. For the record, I don’t want to be the kind of photographer that just takes a picture and then moves on. In the past, photojournalists have felt that it was best not to intercede for various reasons. In contrast, I not only want to take photos of what is happening, but do what I can to help while I am there. The poster below is meant to be a depiction of these ideas. Towards this end, I have enrolled as an art minor with emphasis in photography. I hope that someday I will be able to travel abroad and use what I have learned to truly benefit others. Despite these current plans, I am constantly realizing a couple of things: firstly, I don’t have all the answers, and secondly, I cannot save the world. However, I can make the world a better place and I am always examining such issues to try and find where I fit into it all.