Before Me, There Was Them
Their house is still standing.
I hope it gives the new family happiness and comfort.
If it could talk, I wonder what it would say.
Story of my family.
I know that the fields are now a gas station and a Popeyes, among other houses and things.
It’s a small town, and I’m pretty sure I’m related to most of the one graveyard it has.
Yet, I hope it doesn’t turn into one of those “cookie-cutter” neighborhoods with no soul.
I hope it keeps its soul.
I told you the house was still standing.
That road is only made for 1 car at a time, I’m surprised it’s paved.
I hope the new family takes care of it like mine once did.
I never once had been inside, but I wonder what my feet would feel like running across the floorboards.
I wish I had a Time Machine, so I could go back and see.
But, technology ain’t there yet. I wonder if, in my lifetime, I’ll see it.
Since, all them saw so much change.
Apparently, my great-grandmother loved to drive a school bus.
Thank you Grandad for posting on Facebook.
Dorothy Jean Wyatt
My Nana,
I hope you’d be proud of me.
I’m almost done getting my college degree, and I feel like I’ve accomplished so much yet so little at the same time.
There’s a boy who I’ve spent 5 years with, and I’m sure you’d like him a lot.
He treats me very well, and I wish he had met you.
I miss you, dearly.
I love you!
Sincerely,
Your first grandaughter
.
Dec. 5, 1942 - July 18, 2018 ❤️🕊️
Harpersville has changed a lot, yet you can feel the old spirits movin’ through there.
I wonder what they think and feel about the change.
Do they notice?
Me & Aiden went to a winery on this trip. Morgan Creek Winery. Free wine tastin’ and ended up buying 3 bottles.
For those of you who have a Pig close to you, go buy a bottle.
(Piggly Wiggly for those who ain’t from here)
Riding around with my grandad that day while we went through every backroad in Harpersville is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life.
I’m grateful I got to experience this before time got away.
I wonder if I will remember my childhood home the way he remembers it.
I hope I do,
I hope I remember running around barefoot everywhere and not caring about how clean my clothes ended up being. I hope I remember everything, including the hot and humid summer days that are unbearable.
I want to raise my kids here, I don’t see it any other way. (unless something grotesque happens)
I hope for a better future for those who come after me.
I hope they’ll experience what I and those before me got to experience.
I hope that better healthcare, resources, and funding will reach every corner of the South.
We deserve better.
The future children deserve better.
Many people (including the government) are high on my bitin’ list.
Family portraits have stayed consistent since the camera was invented, yet you can always see each individual’s personality in them.
That’s probably what I love about photography: the idea of capturing the moment and the individual.
I also love my family.
I am upmost grateful
A lot of girls say they have the best dads.
But, I truly believe I have the best one.
.
You know that movie, Father of the Bride? Wonderful movie. But there’s a quote that says:
“I realized at that moment that I was never going to come home again and see Annie at the top of the stairs. Never going to see her again at our breakfast table in her nightgown and socks. I suddenly realized what was happening. Annie was all grown up and was leaving us, and something inside began to hurt.”
Makes me cry tbh.
Mostly because my dad would always make me and my sister breakfast, no matter how old we got.
I miss that whenever I’m away.
To my dad,
Thank you for raising me and showing me what love is.
Thank you for being my No. 1 supporter in anything I do.
Thank you for being there and showing up.
Thank you for playing Disney music 24/7.
I am so grateful to be your daughter.
I love you.
Sincerely,
Your oldest.
At the end of the day, my mama and I are just two girls witnessing girlhood for the first time.
Oh, how lucky I got to have her as my mama.
She sacrificed a lot just to have me, especially as her firstborn child.
She stayed home with me.
She put her career on pause for me.
She held me in her body for months.
She went through a C-Section just to have me.
She sacrificed everything for me.
She was at every event and school function.
She was in the PTA, and my teachers knew her by name.
She continues to support my own career goals and wishes the best for me, as I do her.
Many men do not realize what it takes for a woman to have a child. Men simply do not see all of the mental & physical changes it takes for women to have children. They will never understand it.
Women sacrifice everything (ex. their literal bodies), while many men cannot grasp the concept and either choose to ignore it, or believe women are only good as mothers.
(No, I am not saying all men, be for real).
Women are so strong that we can create life.
Maybe that is why most of the world is scared of us.
My mama is not just a mom. She is a UA grad, a nurse, and a loving, caring, and beautiful person. She is everything, AND she is a mom. She is not simply just a mom.
But, she is my mama.
Mom, I love you.
Forever & always.
Sincerely,
Your oldest.
I’m not kidding when I say my sister is literally my best friend.
I know it’s cliché, but after everything, how could she not be?
I used to wish I had an older sibling to look up to.
Someone who would show me the way.
Someone who could give me advice when times got hard.
Someone who went to college first and told me the ins & outs of what to do.
Yet, I don’t wish that anymore, as I am that older sibling.
I hope I’ve been a good role model for her, despite my many, many flaws.
However, she has also been a role model for me (despite her being younger & shorter).
She has shown me what resilience and strength look like.
She has taught me how to be fierce & to stick up for myself.
She has taught me to 100% be my authentic self, no matter what anyone else says.
She is quite literally the strongest person I know, despite her smaller stature.
I am so grateful to have her as my sister.
She is my twin (not in looks or age, better not get that in y’alls head).
I love you, Lauren.
Don’t ever stop being resilient.
I am so proud of all that you have accomplished.
You have a bright future ahead of you, and I am not excited to witness it.
Also, what is up with everyone in my life becoming a nurse? (love you)
Sincerely,
Quite literally, the best older sister
Linley Caton Wyatt is my full name.
I initially hid these self-portraits for many reasons, mainly because I did not want the internet to see me like that. I took these a year ago for a design class to communicate how I feel when I am away from home. These were initially supposed to be paired up with the family portraits.
I did not want it to be like that, mainly because I despised these self-portraits at the time.
Now, I feel content with them and don’t really care who sees them.
This is to myself,
I never learned how to take care of my hair. No one ever taught me, and that was the biggest insecurity I had growing up.
I hated my hair.
I hated how poofy and frizzy it got.
I hated that it wasn’t straight or that it wasn’t coily.
It was in between.
And I could not maintain it.
However, once I grew up, I finally could take care of my hair.
I bought products and educated myself on different types of hair.
I took care of it and finally gained the confidence that I longed to have.
I finally felt free.
Though, this isn’t all about hair.
To my younger self,
Keep being you.
Don’t let others degrade you.
Accept yourself, as you’ll soon find your place.
Don’t let your empathy diminish, but keep your anger checked.
Keep being fierce, but have a gentle heart.
And don’t take no shit from nobody.
Sincerely,
L.W
