During a generation of teenagers and adolescents who tend to judge you for who you are on the outside than the inside, it’s hard to figure out what's valuable and what's not. Are those $200 Ugg boots valuable? Or is the feeling you get when you land your first back-handspring more valuable? Do we have a right to tell others what is and isn't valuable? Or do we even have the authority to decide for ourselves?
I step out of Laurens house into the soft breeze. Even though its summer I can feel the cool wind on my arms and legs. I skip into her front yard, keeping moving so I can stay warm. Out of the back pocket of my denim shorts I pull my little green camera.
The metal is cool and scratched from having being dropped so many times. And even though it’s been through rough times, my camera still manages to turn on, the light turning green and the LCD monitor flashing on. I raise the camera up to the sky to take a picture of the cloud forms above and the faint click goes off. The image flashes on the screen and I pull the camera close to my face to evaluate the picture I have taken.
People think you need big expensive cameras with huge lenses and millions of functions to be a good photographer. When really, all you need is the drive and a working camera. Sure it would be nice to have a big expensive Cannon or Nikon. But at that moment I am completely content with my lime green $150 Fujifilm.
Lauren and I wander around her yard passing the camera to one another. We search for any scene or piece of nature we find interesting and immediately take a snapshot of it on the camera. We then decide to broaden our expedition to the rest of her neighborhood and soon wander to the nearby woods. The woods lead us into a beautiful field. Our curiosity takes us to new places and my camera comes with us, documenting our journey every part of the way.
Lauren and I sit on top of her parents’ car eating burgers, sipping Snapple and taking goofy MySpace pictures. From our perch we can see everything, from the teens getting arrested for underage drinking to the middle age folks singing along to the old tunes they grew up with. We look longingly at Gillette Stadium which seemed to practically be calling out at us.
Lauren's parents tell us that it’s time to go in. We quickly jump of the car and walk to the stadium. Once inside, we then had the chore of climbing what seemed to be the endless stairway to our seats. After we made it to the top I can see the entire stadium and am in awe at seeing how many people were there. Among our peers Lauren and I are probably the only ones who really appreciated the work of “old musicians” so it was kind of surreal seeing all the fans coming together to see the great show. Lauren and I waste no time trying to find a t-shirt vendor so we can buy some souvenirs. As soon as we are finish purchasing our shirts we hear the sound of a piano playing a familiar tune. We share a look of terror that we're going to miss the opening of the show and race back to our seats with no regards to who we knock down on our way. As soon as we are in view of the stage we share a sigh of relief that Elton John and Billy Joel had just stepped out and we hadn't missed anything. We cheer along with the rest of the stadium as the song finishes and Billy and Elton stand up and hug each other.
The rest of the night is pure bliss. Elton has his turn playing his old tunes and then so does Billy Joel. Lauren and I enjoy every bit of it; from singing along to all the songs we knew to laughing at the wild blonde in the seat next to us who had had a bit too much to drink. We nicknamed her Deborah. The bright blue sky above has turned to darkness and the temperature had dropped since when we first arrived, but we don't notice between our sing-alongs and swaying with "Deborah" to a slow ballad. The finale is the best. The two artists face each other on with two pianos and perform their greatest hits together. I sing along to Bennie and the Jets, my all-time favorite Elton song. The last song played is Piano Man. Lauren and I stand up, sway, and sing along with the rest of the stadium. The sound of the whole arena singing along with the two legendary musicians is the perfect end to a perfect night.
I value both my camera and the concert I attended. My camera lets me cultivate a hobby of mine-photography. Although it isn't the best of its kind, I use it to my best ability and still manage to get some pretty nice pictures. Through my photography I get to express my feelings and talents with all my friends.
I also value the concert I attended. I was very fortunate that Lauren's parents got her concert tickets for her birthday and even purchased an extra ticket so she could bring along a friend. If it wasn't for that happening I might have not ever got to see the concert. I value the concert because it let me see two of my favorite artists live which was a very exciting experience. Being in the same stadium as Elton John one of my idols is something I still can't believe I experienced to this day.
Although my concert night and my camera are different they are also very similar. They both let me enjoy two of my favorite activities- taking pictures and listening to music. They also both let me bond with my good friend Lauren. Along with being a very amateur photographer with me, she is basically my only friend who really appreciates the work of Elton John and Billy Joel.
If you expected me to answer the questions in my introduction I'm sorry to disappoint you. The truth is, I really can't determine what is valuable and what isn't. I don't think anyone can truly say that they have the authority to do so. Maybe life consists of all the really valuable things and all the lesser-valuable things coming together to make up who you are. And maybe instead of trying to judge what’s the most valuable we should just go on living our lives and appreciating everything that happens to us because chances are there probably is some value to it.
