with love from Athens

Athens. A menagerie; a beautiful mix of all that is good and all that is bad. Within the city limits it houses the most prosperous and the most poor. It is home to those just embarking on their life, optimism paving the future, and those who are at the end, years of wisdom and vice etching deep lines on their faces. The homeless sit on street corners, holding signs and regret. Students walk around with backpacks, stress and heavy textbooks slouching their backs. The night is electrified with neon and the sound of sirens. Cheers and fears, sometimes tears. Saturday in Athens, the day that a single sport unites a whole city. We cry together, we curse together, we hope together. All for our team, all for our city. It’s filled with dreams and disappointments, those who fit in and those who have found their own place. Record shops, cafes, coffee shops, and bars. And the music, oh the music that gets carried on a summer breeze. I hope to capture this, the essence, of Athens and the people who call it home.

[withlovefromathens]

K.A. Artist Shop: 127 N. Jackson St. 

[withlovefromathens]

Centro Bar 

[withlovefromathens]

“ Since I’m the only fourth/fifth degree woman in Georgia, I’m [ranked] first. I really started loving taekwondo when I got to Red Belt. I would switch between liking it and not. I had those moments where I was like, ‘I want to quit’ but my mom would always push me and be like, ‘Well, we’ll try this day and see if you like it’ and I usually ended up liking that day. So I continued. My favorite part, besides getting a workout in, is the training. It really does push you physically and mentally. Because the mental aspect is being more disciplined and respect and integrrity. They have helped me throughout my whole life. And physically it’s a lot different than running or swimming because you’re using all your body movements to do a punch or a kick.” 

[withlovefromathens]

The Lamar Dodd School of Art

[withlovefromathens]

“I definitely want to get my major in journalism and possibly have a writing certificate. As far as beyond college, I would say just writing for people and putting the truth out there. I think [it’s] a noble profession honestly. Because you know there’ll always be doctors and lawyers but there’s also going to be writers. So I think I’m just born to be one of those.”

[withlovefromathens]

“I grew up in Virginia near Manassas. I used to go fishing in Bull Run. My father owned an asphalt company and that’s what I did for many years. When I was little all I wanted to do was grow up but now I wish I could be young again.”