Murals
Creating Noey in Public, Part 5: More extracts of the Nostalgia Issue
Recap
I am currently working on a photo essay called Nostalgia. It’s been a mission to get it done between work and everything else. Part of the essay is articulating the thoughts that came with the images on the pages. I’ve done everything in my power to procrastinate this part because a piece of me feels cringe about writing my thoughts down. While it is scary to put myself out there, it is therapeutic. There’s something about putting your work out to live somewhere, so I figured it would take away pressure if I pre-released my thoughts via Substack before printing them out in a “magazine” issue.
The extract below (after the divider) was inspired by a photo I took of my little brother studying for his high school finals. I was originally there to tutor him on probability and trigonometry. He sent me some of the practice tests he struggled with so I could do them beforehand. Admittedly, I was so busy with work I only got through the probability questions. We’ve had a run in with extra math classes and private tutors but no one was getting through to him. The thought of him not passing math or the school year filled me with anxiety and guilt that I wasn’t doing enough. I had to get over myself; my actions alone weren’t going to solve this. My role isn’t to control the final outcome, after a certain point you’ve just got to stand back and hope for the best. Like walking past a “Mural”, on a building wall: love it or hate it, it’s there, and it happened. If he fails, I’ll be there to tell him it’s not over. If he passes, I’ll congratulate him. That quiet support is all I truly needed in his position, and now I get to relieve that moment through him.
(As an Easter egg, “Mural” is also a song from Lupe Fiasco, heralded as a dense, word painting, 1373 word essay that is overwhelming in imagery.)
Murals
Hightop fades, He Say She Say, Joga Bonito, Jesus Saves, Chuck Taylors, Carlton Banks dancing meme, DatPiff Mixtapes, Riders on the Storm, Russian Beer, Toyota Yaris, Thriller, Snapbacks, Super Saiyan, SSX Tricky, Mini Lagos: Sunnyside, Megan Good, Old Trafford, Vernac, Bunker beds, Belt buckles, Isolation, and MTV create small snippets of a childhood.