Growing Up

As children develop they move farther and farther away from home and into secluded places such as schoolyards, trails, and empty lots. These locations are where children ride dirt bikes, smoke cigarettes, and act out the fantasy of adulthood. The fragility of youth is also exposed in these spaces. The absence of supervision, naive experimentation, and the threat of injury create an environment filled with uncertainty and danger. This scenario parallels the psychological transition that people endure in their pursuit of maturity. My father passed away when I was a teenager. This event and his resulting absence propelled me into adulthood, thus impacting my recollection of childhood. The loss of my father allows me to recognize the lingering memories of adolescence that reside in the spaces where I attempted to shed my youth.