A home is, without a doubt, a reflection of the people living there, either intentionally or unintentionally. This essay is a look inside the homes of two different groups of people in order to explore the differences in lifestyles and in the home itself. One dwelling is occupied by a group of four college students, including myself, while the other is owned by a couple that has lived in the same house since 1965. A shared driveway divided down the center by a joint in the concrete, illustrates the difference of two extremely different lifestyles happening in close quarters. On the exterior, the differences are harder to see, but once inside, it becomes quite apparent.

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Reflection.

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Although the images don't necessarily demonstrate directly a healthy relationship between our house and our neighbors, it would be an inaccurate representation of our real-life coexistence to include such photographs. The image of our neighbors in front of their home along with the image of myself and my roommates in front of ours were taken within two minutes of each other. Also, the very fact that the picture of us in front of our home was taken by these same neighbors demonstrates this just as much as the other images do, taken by myself. I explained that I had a project for my English class and what my idea was, and they were glad to help me carry out that vision. Our rapport isn't built on dinner parties or long nights of card playing, but instead on neighborly things. On a morning with fresh snow, we might shovel the driveway as well as their walkways and back patio, but on a different morning, he might do the same for us. When we need a ladder to clean out our gutters, they gladly oblige. And even better, when their vegetable harvest provides more tomatoes than they can use, we get to reap the benefits.



What I think this photo essay does do is provide an underwhelming look into the lives of the two homes' residents on an average day. The pictures aren't spectacular images, and they aren't altered very much using computer programs, i.e. Photoshop. They simply demonstrate the well kept nature of our neighbors' dwelling compared to the more cheaply and less planned decoration of our home. Their home is carefully furnished with beautiful things and memories that they have collected over the years, compared to our home, which is not filled with many decorative objects, but rather with constant guests and makeshift trashcans which simply provide a place where we can form such memories.

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I can't speak to the exact nature of what happens on a regular basis in their home but the images of us and our guest towards the middle of the essay are perfect images that I think any group of college kids who are close with their roommates could relate to. Those particular pictures are a reflection of our home in that they aren't about the aesthetic quality of the image or of the place, but rather what is happening in that space; in that moment. 



In contrast, the images of our neighbors' home were planned images taken of fairly static things; of items that represent events that have previously occurred. The nature of the planned images of a more cleaned and presentable space could also be attributed to the fact that I, as a neighbor and not a resident of their home, was a planned guest. This could have created an inaccurate representation of their everyday activities but this also speaks to the nature of our relationship: cooperative and inviting.