On Longing Assignment

"The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale." This quote reminded me of an extravagant gown at the Ringling Museum because it credits both humanity’s judgment and vulnerability that are frequently concealed beneath immaterial layers.

"To have a souvenir of the exotic is to possess both a specimen and a trophy." Peacocks are exotic creatures, and the quote refers to the subjectivity in valuing one’s presence. People have diverse capacities for appreciating experiences.

"The place of origin must remain unavailable in order for desire to be generated." A few years ago, I visited this lighthouse set on an isle. It felt unattainable, similar to euphoric memories that cannot be replicated. As I remember looking at this quaint building from the rocky shore, I’ve come to perceive it as nostalgia personified. It represents a spectrum of conflicting emotion that I simultaneously view through rose-colored lenses and a darkened state of mind.

"The souvenir speaks to a context of origin through a language of longing, for it is not an object arising out of need or use value." I associate this statement with my trip to Disneyland when I was fourteen. Pleasure is its own language because despite being a universal concept, people don’t always understand why certain endeavors delight other people. In my childhood, Disneyland was a mere want, never a need and that is perfectly acceptable.

"The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental, and the three-dimensional into the miniature, that which can be enveloped by the body." I encountered this waterfall in Yosemite National Park. The phrase “enveloped by the body” struck me with a comparison: waterfalls are symbolically akin to mentality. Objectively, they aren’t the most interesting phenomenon, but their consistency overwhelms the viewer with peace. The part about transformation from three-dimensional into miniature can describe the psychological transformation after witnessing a somewhat intangible spectacle that is majestic for its simplicity.