The Un-Made Photograph

As an introduction assignment, we wrote and discussed the un-made photograph: that is, a photograph that never was, but could've been. To make sense of the idea, we talked about event in our lives which we wished we had a  picture of. The intent of the exercise was to make us think about 1. Why no picture existed, and 2. how the moment would've changed for us if we'd actually had a camera in-hand (would we have acted differently, would we remember it differently?).

I chose college move in; I like to think I remember the event pretty well, as it was only one year ago. I attended a pre-orientation program through UNH called 'Connect'. This meant moving into college early; Stoke Hall would become my home for Sunday-Friday, then I would move into my real dorm (a whole week before my roommates/freshman!). After one week of rigid and packed 12 hour scheduling and intense STEM/research-based mini-courses I was overstimulated, strung out, exhausted mentally and physically. On Friday, it was pouring. I had to move everything in on my own from Stoke to Jessie Doe, my home for the semester. My stuff soggy from the trip over, I then had to fight with boxes and bags up four flights of stairs, to my quad-style room.
If I had a camera, I would've taken a self portrait of the moment I set the last box on my floor and rolled onto the plastic covered bed. After hours of moving I was soaked, sick, and tired, but somehow still excited about the prospect of my new life on campus. I wish I could've captured that!