The Meaning of Travel, The Meaning of Documenting.

I am going to be honest -- it is A LOT of work to travel with young kids. Of course, the more you do it, the easier it gets. However, it is still a lot of work.

A lot of people argue that little kids won't remember what they saw; they won't be able to fully understand the experience so it's better to wait till they are older; or they would be happy to play with sand anywhere so why bother spending so much money and energy to take them to play with sand at XYZ place. These are all valid arguments. As a matter of fact, we gave up on our extensive travel plan within China due to these reasons. With that being said though, I still think traveling can be such an amazing opportunity for the kids to experience the world in different ways. On top of that, even though I do not remember all the details about the places I traveled to when I was a kid, I definitely appreciated the fact that I got to travel with my family to so many places. Now that I have kids myself, I appreciate my parents and grandparents' effort in bringing me with them on so many trips regardless of how difficult it could be to travel with kids. 

I doubt that my toddler would remember when we went to the top floor of the Yellow Crane Tower and saw that amazing view of this big city. However, I do know that she remembers that she climbed all those steps and got to take an elevator down with Grandma. Then she got to eat a delicious ice cream and played in the pouring rain which made Grandpa smile really big. Wouldn't this memory be enough? Does it have to be "the appreciation of this ancient architecture"? 

Now, when it comes to documenting the trip, I go back and forth all the time. Sometimes, I photograph a lot. Sometimes, I just soak in all the moments with my own eyes. I have come to terms with the fact that when I photograph or document, I do it best if it is from my perspective. I could get down to my little girl's level physically but I can only guess what my toddler felt when she looked out from that lower opening. So why document? 

Well, I think, to me, it is for selfish reasons. Oftentimes, I don't get to be in the photo, and as a result, the images I make become my expression of my feelings. I project the mood onto the subjects or even the people I photograph. When I am documenting this moment specifically, am I really documenting how my daughter is amazed by the view? Not really. I know when I looked out at the city, I remembered how different it looked since the last time. It was wonderful to see the rapid development of the city, but at the same time, I missed the simpler times when life was not as busy and I felt a little sad that missed the process of growth since I now live far away from home. 

It comes down to what our photographs are for. When my daughter gets to my age, if she goes back, the view would be much different from this view. In that sense, this image is for her and I hope that she appreciates the documentation of this moment in time how this city looked. But more so, this is definitely a photograph for myself. With all the chaos that day, never a dull moment of traveling with kids, I was not able to really process what I saw and how I felt. Now, I have this photograph to look back on and I can pick up so much information to help me go through my emotions. 

That, I think is exactly the meaning of travel and the meaning of documenting -- you experience the world and then you might feel something. Now you get to share that with others.