Live Your Life with Compassion

Photography has interested me since sophomore year because of my friends' knack at the art. I often like having photos taken of me and posting them on social media. In my Journalism class, I got to go on Field Experiences to practice being behind the camera to tell a story. I took photos of my classmates, the train station, and the garden. I had to explain the story behind the photos in front of my class.

This Action Project had me practice my photography skills on a person that answered the question "What is the meaning of life?" I picked my mother to interview because she is an optimistic and influencial person in my life.

Eli is a Mexican 52 year old woman that grew up in the South Chicago neighborhood. She raised her three children there- Destiny (29) Savannah (22) and myself (17). Both of her parents immigrated from Mexico to Chicago in the 1940s. Her father worked in the steel mills all of his life, while her mom cooked, cleaned, and sold Avon. When she isn’t at her front desk job at Harbor Point Estates, she enjoys bike riding, grilling her famous shish-kabobs, and cuddling with her two dogs and four cats when she gets home from work. Although she has been through some tough spots in her life, she has made sure to keep a positive attitude and keep pushing through.

At 9pm, I laid next to my mom on her bed with a pet dog  on each of our laps. I was sick with a fever but I had to push through and interview her for my project. When I explained the purpose of the interview at first, she doubted that she would be suitable to answer such a daunting question. I reassured her that she would do great and started recording.

“So, what is the meaning of life to you? What are your values?” She burst into hearty laughter and tears started rolling off her cheeks. I sat there in awe, confused by the certain burst of emotion from her.

“This is too deep. This is too deep, man.” She wiped the tears off of her face, struggled forming a straight face, then immediately burst into laughter again. “Live life happily, just by doing the things you enjoy on a daily basis. Live your life with compassion and have no regrets.” I wondered what that looked like, so I asked her how she practices her meaning of life.

“I wake up at about 5, pretty early. I take my spunky chihuahua out. Surprisingly, she wakes me up every morning to go outside and pee, even though she is very old. I make my coffee, Boston style. Lots of cream and sugar. I gotta make sure the weather channel is on while I am getting ready so I can listen in on what I should wear for the day. Seeing the weather ladies on the news inspires my outfits and jewelry. I gotta put on my war paint, aka my makeup. I don’t want people to realize how old I actually am.”

We laughed about her adoration for weather ladies and continued eating candy on her bed. “The meaning of life has changed so much for me since I was your age, Jessenia.” She closed her eyes and pet her chihuahua.

I pondered about her transition from being a teenager to now, so I asked, “How has the meaning of life changed for you since?" Eli pointed to multiple prayer picture cards of her deceased friends tucked on the side of her mirror. “When I was younger, I didn’t value anything. I had everything, and then I had great losses. Losing friends at a young age really hurt me. I started valuing life more once I realized I need to be grateful in the moment.” I got up from the bed and examined her prayer cards, each symbolizing a sad year in her life.

“What was the first impactful loss in your life?”, I asked.  Eli sadly smiled and grabbed her bible from her nightstand.

“My best friend from high school and my husband got shot on the same day, and they died a week apart. I think that impacted my life because of the coincidence. It was tragic. Just the experience of having to go to the hospital and then the trip to the morgue to identify the body. I can’t really relive everything. It feels like a blur and it hurts.”

Personally, I have never been through family loss, but I have accompanied Eli to her close family friend's funerals since I was smaller. I asked her if family loss is the same as friend loss. She hesitated and said, "A different part of your heart hurts when your parent dies than when your friend dies. Until you experience it, you won’t know how it feels."

We took a moment of silence as she flipped through her bible, full of highlighted quotes, scribbled notes in the margin, and saint prayer cards stuck in the binder. “I have been trying to get into the habit of reading verses from my bible before I leave the house. I pray to have a safe journey and not bump into people I don’t like. My mom always prayed, so I try to keep up with her tradition."


Here is a picture I took of Eli while she was waiting for the J14 bus on South Chicago Avenue and 83rd St the next day. It was very early in the morning because she was on her way to work. The aperture was high in this photo, which means that I let a lot of light through my lens. I wanted the bright colors to pop out, so that is why I used high aperture. I had high shutter speed when I took this, because the windy day was blowing her hair in all different directions. I hoped her hair would look like it was in place when taking the photo. The focus was on her face because she loves making animated facial expressions to show her spunk. The most colorful part of the photo is her face with different shades of red on her glasses and hair. She is wearing a pair of heart earrings that I gifted her for her birthday. I also practiced the “Rule of Thirds” while taking this picture. Her body is in the center of the photo, which is appealing to the eye. This photo encompasses her personality because she is very goofy, stylish, and fierce.

This photo is objective because I think others would agree with the adjectives I pulled out from her personality shown in the photo. Her meaning of life, living life happily and with compassion, is very bright in this picture.