Posted on April 20, 2015 by I’Mani Sellers
I went back home for spring break and realized how fast all the children in my life are growing up and I decided to go to one of the parks closest to me. I have noticed, that in my hometown, a lot of children do not spend their time in the park with their friends. When I was younger, we lived to be able to go to the park and still swing on the swings, and even now when we’re trying to channel our childhood, we will go back to the parks late at night.
In my town, children have a lot of responsibilities, besides just being a student; it goes way beyond chores. Most children back at home, end up taking the roles of parents and having to leave their childhood behind, and with that they leave the parks behind also. Having fun is a lost art at home, when you’re younger. They are not allowed to relax and enjoy their childhood anymore.
I wanted to capture the park when there was snow on the ground, because I believe it went with the attitude children have towards the parks, cold. The park only feels warmth from the sun, and the stray animals that scamper through it. I wanted people to see the conditions that the park is left in. It is abandoned, not maintained, the equipment is rusting and losing it color.
Parks still cause me to feel nostalgic, and it makes me want to find a way to find the lost childhoods of the generation after mine.
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Photography and Text by I’Mani Sellers, Copyright 2015
About the Author: I’Mani Sellers is a sophomore with a focus on the field of STEM, College of the University of Pennsylvania, Class of 2017.