Looking back on 2021: Pictures of the year

The following are a series of my favorite photographs from 2021.

Whoop whoop..... We Americans can survive anything.... er.... well from February 2020 to the end of 2021 we sure have been tested. The letters C.O.V.I.D. can kindly find other letters of the alphabet to join forces with as soon as you can please and thank you very much.

The truth is, this pandemic should've brought us together... like 9/11.... but it really didn't. It is a shame we didn't take the time to learn something, to sit back and see the beauty of life that we have and form a positive direction forward.

But we didn't.

We at Eight & 322 are hoping that by looking back on these photos from the last year,  that folks realize how powerful we can be together. These are simply our favorites, or ones we think are important moments in time that help define our lives. And we truly are a resilient lot. We are way stronger when realize the qualities that bind us together than separate us when we argue (discuss passionately).

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We are each others neighbor, and we are each others best advocates for the life we've chosen to live here in northwest Pennsylvania.

We truly are a family if we choose to be.

I'll never understand the Hatfield and McCoy way of doing things.

We have more in common than that which separates us.

We celebrate our lives in ways few others can. Rich or poor, we are community.

We walk a lonely journey of pain if we must like Shane Carey who continues to carry the pain of his son Tyler's suicide while serving his country. He is on a mission with many, many others trying to confront the reality of military and veteran suicide. A story I wrote and photographed while working for The Derrick and The News-Herald didn't stop when I was no longer working for the paper. There are 22 suicides among veterans and active duty personal each day. Turning a blind eye to it fixes nothing. So I'm humbled to have gained enough trust to continue telling this sad story.

​And these are our neighbors and our family.

Other parts of our life we celebrate. A hapless Cochranton football team found themselves without a leader when In stepped a veteran coach who directed a few minor changes and took a team that hadn't won a game the year before to an undefeated regular season. Remakable. This was here in our back yard.

And then there is an established perennial powerhouse coached by a local legend who finds a way to win, in part because of a coach who cares deeply for her kids and knows her sport even when it isn't going according to plan..

2021 was a mix of ups and owns. Of masks or no masks, of who gets to celebrate and who doesn't. In the spring, proms, brought a small return to normalcy.

If sweaty dancing to the music of today is normal....I guess if you're young it certainly is something to consider.

Sports may have been strained in the spring for sure, but many found a way to play and many family members found a way to watch them via the internet.

Though sports, the fun of game, was rocked a bit when a bad accident took the life of one of our young kids. Rocky Grove had to deal with an incredibly sad loss of one of their own.

This team had to bear a weight no-one should have to bear.

But they played hard for their teammate and were inches away from a district championship.

It was a very strange year in more ways than one. Sadness and happiness... I guess in that sense it was like every other year.

We had rainbows and dark clouds.

In between we still had each other and a sense of who we are as Americans. Sometimes we forget that.

Sometimes we forget that life is fun.

Sometimes we forget our lives have real meaning.

Sometimes we forget the perspective of joy.

Or what accomplishment looks like.

Or what effort looks like.

Or how striving works.

Or what hard work delivers.

Or rewards.

We got a chance to witness a lot of great things this past year at Eight & 322. 

Scary moments that ended up making us chuckle when a trainer's laugh was revealed later by the athlete's mom. The pitcher was injured, but more concerned about her unshaven leg.

And even brief moments of celebration during a very long hard season gave us hope.

Like a bit of perfection in a split second.

Or taking a moment of respect for a fallen athlete from another team, but from our community.

Our kids and family are strong in our community if we choose it to be.

And when we find a way to care.

We find the things that bond us in interests.

We celebrate.

We admire.

We check on each other and hold each other accountable. 

Election legitimacy was called into question by many across the country, causing election boards to once again be under scrutiny. It is a very transparent process really, they advertise and allow people to bear witness to the testing of their machines which go through diligent testing. In Venango County the public is invited to witness. Other than the officials, one candidate was present, The Newspaper and Eight & 322. With widespread hooting and hollering about election fraud from the 2020 election, it was either forgotten or apathy is truly one of the greatest rights of being American.

We are Americans.

And this allows us to understand that we are free.

And we understand the cost of that freedom.

But we also understand that life is complex and whimisickle at times.

And weather... well it is what it wants to be and we have to adjust.

And we do.

And we celebrate who we are. This may not seem like a photograph that would make a picture of the year. But it is, because this young man might not be built for football, that in no way stops him and he is a part of the fablric that makes up a team. His coach calls him "Bug" but he shows up everyday and has helped his team in countless ways all season.. His heart is way bigger than his arms. His coach pointed him out as an example of being a Franklin Knight.

We still manage rites of passage

Some of us with style.

Some of us with heart.

Some of us whimsically.

Some of us with joy.

Some of us in awe.

Some of us work many years to see the fruition of our efforts.

Some of us just take the moment and make the most of it.

There are times life is sublime.

And there are times we try so hard we're not even sure where we are for a little while.

But we find a way!

And we welcome visitors from all over the globe.

And we play and we acknowledge those around us.

We experience.

And we test ourselves.

We remember.

And we challenge ourselves to see the world from different perspectives.

We surround ourselves with good people.

And we rise to the occasion

We delight.

We love.

We hope.

We pray.

And we mourn too many.

But we keep trying to keep our eye on the ball

Our legacy intact.

We keep our friends closer than our enemies, And we laugh.

Because life is fun.

And rewarding.

And at times strange.

Other times timeless.

Other times reflective. There was a time we came together as a people, well at least as a country. We perhaps grew our hatred of ours too when we came together to fight against an attack on our nation. In 2021 we remembered twenty years earlier when we were shook to the core.

And we gave honor to dedicated servants of us all.

Some who brought back art and theater to our youth after a long shutdown

And some simply honoring this country.

Some even sang it all from the top of their lungs

Others celebrated how we are perhaps the most diverse place on the planet... when we want to be.

And when we want to be, we can respect one another even when we're on the opposite team.

And have each others back when we're on the same team.

And teach each other how to be better.

How to be empathetic.

How to share in celebrations.

And how to be cute as hell.

How to shine.

How to share.

And how to serve.

And though there are times when things might seem hopeless

There is heart.
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And our little corner of the world is a really special place with a lot of heart and all the other things these photos from just one year reveal.  

I am very fortunate I get to document this place and all you folks. 

​Thank you!

​Forward to 2022!

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