I am returning to my blog after a few days. What a crazy week this has been. Enough of that though and on to the topic for this particular post. 'Least' has been a recurring topic in a couple of my DMA classes this week. This topic began with the showing of the William Kentridge piece of the procession of down and out figures. After watching this piece, I found myself attaching the concept of 'least' with physical need.

This is a strong aspect of it of course. Those in need of food, clothing, shelter, and other such needs should not escape our attention. To be honest, in my personal experiences, the knowledge that such vast physical need exists in this world never really reached me on an emotional or any deeper level. Often I am presented with a passionate plea and pictures of the starving. When I go to church, when I go to chapels, when I attend various Christian events, on television, and just about anywhere else, I have found plenty of examples of those desiring financial help to lessen the physical destitution of others. Mostly these messages left my mind as quickly as they had come before me. Perhaps it was because of how distant those images were from my life. Perhaps it was the fact that these pleas were attempts to place guilt upon me when I knew that I done nothing wrong. Perhaps it was simply due to the fact that I have such limited funds at this point.

The idea of the least of us for me has come more in the sense of an individual basis. I have always been attracted to those individuals who always find themselves as outcasts, forgotten, and overlooked by the masses as well as those individuals who are either ignored or pitied, but never really understood. In fact, it has been only in the past few months that my scope of those who are in need has been widened to include the vast physical poverty which we can find anywhere in the world.

Diving into the depths of a single broken and isolated indivdual has seemed much more striking to me than a broad glimpse into vast physical destitution. Perhaps that is just my own unique spin on the same idea, but I will just work with what I feel called to address.

I find it difficult to describe myself because it seems to me that however you choose to describe yourself is a way of attempting to give yourself an identity in the eyes of others.

I suppose I could identify myself as a storyteller as I have been writing stories since I learned to write and continue to due so when I have the time and energy. This identity also could fit me since I am in the middle, or perhaps towards the beginning of learning the art of visual storytelling through animation.

Another related identity would be that of a developing digital artist, since I have been exploring several software packages as interesting tools. So far in this regard I have been focussed in landscapes since they seem to spark my interest the most. As I learn more about developing characters in my classes, I hope that I will be able to incorporate interesting characters in my landscapes and have that be the beginning for some of my animation in the future. The image posted here is an example of one of the images that I have created so far.

While some may call me quiet, I prefer observant and careful in what I speak. While others would call me random, well I would probably agree.

I could give myself the identity of an occasional long distance runner, as I enjoy going off to a park and running some miles until I can barely stand up any longer. I have found it to be oddly true that running until you fall over in exhaustion and then recovering can be a powerful analogy for life.

While these few things tell a little about my identity, I do not believe in limiting who a person is to their career, tangible interests, or current school. While we may give ourselves validity by presenting our strengths and accomplishments to others, I choose to leave my identity open for discussion. If after this you still wonder who I am, feel free to try and figure it out. I know I still am.

Also, If you think that this is overly deep and complicated for an introductory post, well perhaps that is just part of who I am as well.