Main
Street Greenville
Hometown
Pride: My internship experience
By Amy Barger
There
are several reasons I decided to
volunteer for Main Street Greenville this summer.
I will start by explaining how I used to
think of Greenville. When you have grown up in a small town for 18
years and it
is all you have ever known, you crave to leave. You are young, you
realize this
world is bigger than Greenville and there is so much to discover. I used to simplify
Greenville as, “a boring,
uninteresting small town with nothing to do”, and I know I am not the
only
young person who has thought the same way.
I didn't volunteer as much as I should
have and I always had the mindset
that it was Greenville's fault and if it were to become something
wonderful, it
would just magically happen.
Having
those feelings and a hunger for culture,
I chose to move to Chicago in 2009 to study photography in college. It is everything I
imagined it would be and
more; always things to do and many different people with different
backgrounds. I
learned a lot about the
city life, how people work, and most importantly I learned a lot about
myself
and who I am. As I matured as a person and a
photographer,
I realized I gravitated towards
humanism and connections in the world. Look back on my portfolio and
you will
mostly see images of people connecting with each other or connecting
with their
environment.
Photography
allows you to see everything a
little differently. Something magical happens when you realize the
phenomenon
of connections through the lens of your camera. I begin realizing
things are
not always as they appear to be, nothing is ever completely bad or
good, and
there is always something to learn from each connection. When something
bad
happens, it gives you an opportunity to learn how to make it better and
when
something good happens, you appreciate it even more and embrace it.
When
something good is happening, try not to take it for granted. I have grown to open my
eyes wider and I
strive to see; to not overlook and shrug it off as unimportant. I believe anything
happening in this world is important, not only in the city.
I
learned the fun things happening in Chicago
were mostly made possible by the Chicago communities coming together to
make them
happen. Chicago (or any other larger city) isn't a place where fun
things come
out of thin air, they exist through hard work and effort of the people
who live
and work there. This truly made me want to be an active citizen. When I
heard
about Main Street Greenville and it's mission for our downtown, I
figured I
could become active in my hometown.
Within
a week, I saw how much Main Street
Greenville has changed our downtown and how much it contributes to
community
bonding and interest, which is everything I want to be apart of and
everything
I thought Greenville couldn't be. This has been an amazing opportunity
to grow
my photographic portfolio as well as give back to my hometown, which
has shaped
me as a person.
Greenville
deserves more credit than I have
given it in the past. I
am empathetic
and mindful of people because I have been raised around the people of
Greenville.
When
I buy merchandise or pay for a service
from a small business on Broadway, I know my money is going to good
people who
give back to the community or who support shopping local among their
neighbors. Greenville
has a unique,
positive identity. I
have seen first
hand how small business owners and Main Street Greenville have come
together to
spark creative ideas to not only help their businesses but help develop
the
culture and identity of Downtown Greenville, Ohio.
The
images I have captured show a close-knit
community where fond memories are made, with each event making all of
us
closer. As a former cynical teenager of Greenville, I am now one of
it's
biggest cheerleaders. Greenville is amazing because we make it amazing,
and I
hope everyone (old & young) living in Greenville grows to
realize - you
gain as much from your community as you choose to give back to it.
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