These days, we don’t see what’s right in front of us. We overlook things. We think too hard about stuff. And we turn simple things into complex things. One example of this is my photograph “ Oblivious to the Obvious.” It takes place at a parade, which is a fun time where people get together and have a celebration. Candy is thrown out for the kids to enjoy, floats are created to be admired, and everyone in town comes around to watch. The picture illustrates how all of the people are standing around looking for candy, when there is a perfectly good piece of candy laying right in front of them. The fact that they are screaming for candy while its laying right in front of them is symbolic to the real world in many ways. For example, how many people do you know that say “ they cant find happiness” when its all around them. They could have the perfect home, the perfect job, the perfect family, what you would call the “All American Dream.” And they can still find negative things to say, about everything. When I become upset about something that seems important at the time, for example not getting new shoes, I can be very oblivious to the world around me. What I need to pay attention to is the fact that a have a pair of shoes in the first place, when there are people in the world that don’t own anything. When I think of it in that way, to want a new pair of shoes sounds absurd. So ultimately we just need to stop and smell the roses… or just stop and pick up the piece of candy.