I Left the DAY Before

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-SoCal-Fire.html?ex=1179547200&en=eaa313980d874ff8&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Help Me Edit!

I've been narrowing down my story quite a bit. After arriving here, I quickly realized that "what it's like to grow up on Catalina" was so broad that it would take me a year to cover all the aspects.

I had to decide which angle I would take as far as WHO to talk to. I could have included parents and teachers, or older members of the community who have lived here to hear what they have to say about growing up on the island... why they choose to raise their kids here, etc. But I consciously made the decision that I only want to hear from the kids themselves. I decided this because I think it's more important to hear what it's like being a kid here NOW, as opposed to someone's reflections on their experiences, and also I think that a parent's perspective on why they raise their kids here is negligible, compared to what the kids themselves have to say.

I also decided that although I photographed some younger children, I wanted to focus mainly on teenagers because I found their interviews to be more revealing, since they have more experiences to reflect upon.

I also decided to limit myself to the city of Avalon (where about 98% of the kids live), rather than go around to the small village of Two Harbors on the other side and try shooting there as well. I feel like growing up in Avalon is extremely different than growing up in Two Harbors, and trying to cover both places in the same story would water everything down (an inch wide and a mile deep, right?)

While I was shooting it also became clear that you can't capture "what it's like to GROW up" in photos... (at least not in one quarter), because the whole experience of growing up spans a lot of time, and it's a personal experience for everyone. This made me realize that peoples memories and reflections are extremely neccessary in telling my story. As I was conducting my interviews, all the pieces were coming together for me because I could see the same recurring threads in all the interviews. Regardless of whether I was interviewing a popular cheerleader, a pot head, or the school weirdo, certain opinions were shared across the board. Since I think that the real meat of my story exists in what these kids had to tell me, I want to include a portrait series with my final edit. Each portrait will be connected to a pertinent chunk of interview, and when all the portraits and text are viewed together it will paint a larger picture. So, I'm imagining the final product will look like 12 pj style shots with captions, and then 8 or so portraits with associated interviews (numbers just a rough idea, as I still have a lot of editing to do)

I find the most fascinating story here to be the way that the island effects the youth. A lot of the kids really seem to be thriving here... taking advantage of the comfort of the tight community, making strong friendships, exploring nature, living somewhere extremely safe, etc. But all 13 people I interviewed describe this place as (in so many words) a "loser factory". It seems like the very uniqueness and closeness of the island, becomes the same thing that handicaps children as they become adults because they can't handle the transition into the "big world". Most of them have never experienced having to make new friends, or going to a new school (since the school is K-12), and many of the kids only spend a handful of days a year away from the island. There are throngs of kids who recently graduated high school (or are about to graduate) and they constantly complain about how "boring" the island is and how they have to "drink and smoke to have any fun"... however, they find themselves unable to leave. And many who do leave, come back within a few months. All this wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't for the fact that there is no college on the island (a research branch of USC, but no independent college). This creates large quantities of young adults who remain on the island with no formal education. Most other small towns in America have a college somewhere nearby, so if kids can't find the independence to leave their hometown, they can still commute to the closest college by... but the islanders don't have this option.

With the photo essay portion of my story I want to give a taste of what life is like for the kids here - the physical atmoshere, the closeness between friends, how at ease the kids are in this town, their proximity to nature, how they spend their time, etc. Then I want to be able to tell the larger story about kids getting stuck here, etc, with a portrait/interview section (since it's more difficult to visually show that someone is choosing to stay here and why).

Okay! If you actually had the patience to read all of that, then you probably know enough about my story to help me edit what I have so far:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v628/fotolace/CatalinaLooseEdit/

I have rough captions written for most of the photos so you know what's going on. Enjoy.

Shiloh

Katie

Nick

(carving his name in a bat cave)

Hannah, Sadie, and Taylor

Update For Crit

What I find unique about this place is that everyone who has grown up here describes their community as a "family". There are many small towns in America, but the closeness of the this island is very distinct. The people living here share a bond that most other small communities do not:

- they are more isolated from neighboring towns
- they share a distinct way of life (driving golf carts, conserving fresh water, being closer to nature, etc)
- there is an US:THEM relationship between the local islanders and the tourists. On any summer day (or a day when a cruise ship stops there) the population of the town is roughly doubled. But while tourists come and go, the kids are all stuck there together (for better or worse).
- Nearly everyone on the island depends upon the tourism to survive (directly or indirectly)

I've realized that this "family" community effects the youth of the island mainly in two ways:

1. It creates a safe and familiar environment which is healthy for kids. They grow up with a strong bond to the island, but realize they need to leave to attend a college/see more of the world.
2. It creates a safe and familiar environment which handicaps children as they grow into their teenage years in a number of ways. They are sheltered and "bored" and feel the need to indulge in drugs and alcohol. When they try to leave the island they have trouble making new groups of friends (something they have never really had to do), and feel compelled to return to their "island family".

I feel like this is my main angle for the story. How can this isolated "family community" positively and negatively impact the youth?

Questions For The Class Thus Far:
- What do you think?
- What sort of visuals do you feel like you need to see?
- Any ideas for school shots if they won't let me in the building?
- Any other questions (aside from the list I previously posted) that you think I should ask my subjects?

Chris from Stanford

Friday Night Corruption

Pollo. Age 20. Lifelong Islander.

So, you know on shows like 20/20 when the reporters aren't allowed to film in certain restricted areas (like inside a public school or in a business), so they just hand a camera to a student/employee and have THEM gather the footage? That must be legal, right?

It's Windy Here

So, I've noticed a few things about the kids on the island...

- A wide range of age groups will all spend time together and participate in activities. For example, my high school was pretty big, so for the annual plays/musicals they usually only needed 10th, 11th, and 12th graders to perform. Also, in my middle school, 7th and 8th graders were usually the two groups that would get together for any sort of activity like sports, clubs, plays, etc. But here, since the kids aren't separated into elementary school, middle school, high school, etc, you will see a 7 year old in the same play as a 14 year old.

- There is a very warm and casual atmosphere. Things just aren't an intense here as they seemed to be where I grew up. When I went into my high school as a freshmen, it was filled with strangers. All the older kids were strangers and most of the kids my own age were strangers, since about 6 middle schools combined in 9th grade to come into the high school. When kids are surrounded by a bunch of kids they don't know, they tend to get insecure... and then different cliques form... and all that crap starts. But here, there is no going into a NEW school or trying to impress NEW people. Nearly everyone you talk to has been in the same class together since they were 5. And all the kids that weren't in the same grade, still know each other through all the shared community/school activities. Also, when we put on plays at my high school they were very serious. Our huge auditorium would be filled with people from the community and we had to put on a PERFECT show. Not just any old kid who wanted to be in the play could participate either. You had to try out. And if you sucked, they told you to go home. Watching the play practices here on the island are hilarious. Half the kids are looking over at the kid next to them to figure out what dance step is coming next. Everyone constantly erupts in giggles because no one can remember their lines. And no one gets in trouble. The plays are meant to be casual and include everyone who wants to participate - no matter how old they are, or if they can act.

- Since the community is so close, people will come together to help each other (at least sometimes). For example, a fifth grade school teacher, Mary McKernan, has cancer and every time she needs treatment she has to take the ferry boat over to Los Angeles. So, a bunch of students got together and had a car wash/bake sale in order to raise money for her. A bunch of little girls came up and stuck $20 bills into the donation box saying, "mom says this is for Ms. McKernan"

(everyone travels by golf cart here)

If You Can't Find Contacts, Join an Environmental Group and Hang Out at City Hall

Thursday things got better. I befriended the leader of a local environmental group called Avalon Beautiful. She introduced me to a high school kid named Joe who was helping her stuff envelopes at City Hall for community service hours. I talked to Joe about my project... he seemed somewhat interested (although I get the feeling that he only wants to help because he knows I'm old enough to buy him alcohol...) but I got his phone #, so I consider it a success. After meeting Joe, I was introduced to a woman named Jennifer who grew up on the island and now spends all her time working with kids. She works for the day care, organizes the youth activities, and teaches 7th grade. Jennifer agreed to let me tag along and photograph some upcoming activities and she also introduced me to Sean. Sean is the writer/director/choreographer of the seasonal plays put on by the kids. I asked Sean if I could come backstage and take photos during a dress rehearsal of this weekend's play. He said yes.

First Week Was Bleak

- 4 out of 5 teenagers I had been talking to through MySpace stopped replying to my e-mails once I arrived (and the fifth one appears to be somewhat illiterate: "we'll all pretty m,uch in scoo till the weekend i work out at descanso beach at 10 both days but yeah i'll get back to u though")
- The teacher at the high school who had previously told me he wanted to work on the project with me hasn't responded in over a month
- The school refuses to return my phone calls
- I contacted the local paper about posting a classified ad, but they have yet to respond (they only run once every 2 weeks anyway)
- I spoke with one teacher who showed a blatant lack of interest with my whole project and has yet to respond to me.
- Oh, and Ive been peeing in a cup for six days

Apparently, Islanders aren't the most welcoming people. Maybe that's why they decided to move to an island?

Interview Questions for the Teenagers

Any thoughts? Can anyone think of more questions?

1. Tell me about your history on the island
When and why did your family decide to come here?
2. Do you feel like Catalina is a good place to grow up?
Why or why not?
3. What do you feel is the best part about living on the island?
What is the worst?
4. What do you do in your spare time?
5. How often do you leave the island?
Why do you leave? Where do you go?
6. How do you think growing up on the island is different than growing up other places?
7. How do you think being raised on the island has affected you?
8. What is your school like?
9. If you could choose to live somewhere else, would you?
10. Where would you like to live when you grow up?
11. Would you ever consider raising your own children on the island?
12. How do you feel about your home being a tourist destination?
13. How do you think outsiders view the island?
14. How do you think people view you when you tell them you grew up/live here?
15. How would you describe your community?
16. Do you feel safe on the island?
17. Do you ever wish you lived in a bigger city?
18. What is the scariest or most dangerous situation you've found yourself in on the island?
19. How do you feel about traveling by golf cart? (instead of cars, the islanders use golf carts as their primary means of transportation within the city of Avalon)
Do you know how to drive one?
How old do you have to be to drive one?
20. What is a typical day like for you?
21. How has your life on the island changed as you've grown older?

For All Who Don't Know...

Catalina Kids

Catalina Island (located 22 miles from Los Angeles) is largely undeveloped and primarily used as a summertime tourist destination. There is, however, a small local permanent population on the island. There are two schools — one is comprised of 700 students k-12 and the other is a one-room schoolhouse in a remote village.

What is it like for a child to group up in this unique environment? In my essay I want to combine photographs with interviews from children and teens pertaining to their experiences living, working, playing, and going to school in this microcosm of society. I think this is an important project because it will shed light on what it means to grow up in a small, isolated town, which is usually only frequented by summertime tourists coming to “party”. Is this a positive or negative environment to raise children?

I have housing on my father’s boat, which he has temporarily anchored at the island for the next few months. I have also lined up numerous contacts that have shown an interest in my idea. Above all, I feel that I have a unique opportunity to connect with my subjects, since I am still young enough to be viewed as a fellow “youth”.

Ideally, I will build a strong contact with one or more teenagers, who will proceed to introduce me to friends, younger siblings, etc. I want to visually focus on the social interactions and home lives of the children (some of whom have been raised aboard boats, others in deluxe condominiums). Through my interviews I hope to gain insight into what growing up on the island has been like. Has the isolation of the island impacted them positively or negatively? How do they feel about their home being a tourist destination? How do they feel they differ from other kids twenty-two miles away in mainland Los Angeles? The overall project will focus not on individuals, but on the larger social issue of children and their experiences in this unusual community.