Collecting Food

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On my trip with Land Arts of the American West, I documented almost all the food I ate. As I collected I began to form a habit of not eating until I took a photo of it, which made me restrain from having lots of snacks. I noticed this the most when I came back home from the trips.

 I wouldn’t eat that much at home because I didn’t want to have hundreds of photos of Pop-tarts and other junk food. I became more conscious of the things I was eating and eventually I change my diet at home. I shrunk my portions, shifted my food groups, and made a diet similar to a Keto diet. My body felt the change and reacted to it, I was losing weight, but I was starting to get sick too. I had to find my balance because there are many healthy choices that I made, but my body is different and not all lifestyles are compatible with it.

Looking back on all the food I tried out in the field, I felt that I was eating at five star restaurants every day. Everybody got a turn to cook for the group and share their favorite foods. Then at the end of our last trip we had our finale cook days and during those days we remember everything that we cooked, while sitting by the campfire. I know that the trips are over but the bond that we created by sharing thoughts, space, and food together will be embedded within us forever.

The LAAW Crew is a new family of mine that I want to remember and cherish. I took thousands of photos, but there were so many moments that could not be captured in a simple photo. Just like the taste of the many meals we ate together.