Amon // Senior Portraits

I was a little girl, about five years old, playing outside in the hot Florida sun in front of our little yellow house on Normandy Way. My mom was with my little brother under the carport and I was exploring the yard when I discovered two giant ant hills. I sat down in front of them on the warm sidewalk as I watched tiny black ants march up and down one hill while little red ants crawled up and down the other. I vaguely remember the lecture that my mom had given me about how the red ants were fire ants and that I should always stay away from them as their bites were fierce. My little girl logic chimed in as I sat on that sidewalk and I vividly remember thinking that if the red ants bit, then the black ants must not. I’m not sure what came over me, but I thought I should definitely put this theory to the test. Without thinking much more about it, I impulsively pulled down my terry-cloth shorts and sat bare-bottomed right down on that little black ant hill.

This summer we took a vacation to Florida to visit some extended family and explore a bit. We were at his high school graduation dinner when I discovered that my cousin had not had the chance to get any senior photos done. I could not let this go undone, so I insisted that we explore some of the beautiful streets that I had driven by and take some photos. After finishing the first set under some gorgeous moss-covered trees, we headed out to the lake. On the way, I spotted an incredible path with the perfect light and we stopped to take advantage.

After I nestled Jordan (I call him Jordan along with most of our family, but most of his friends call him Amon) at the foot of the tree, my mind went to all of those little ants that I had encountered years before. “Jordan,” I said quickly, “we should’ve checked where you are standing in case there are any ants at the foot of that tree.” The next several seconds sped by like lightning. We both glanced down at his feet and lo and behold, he was covered in hundreds of little black ants. He jumped faster than I can think and his panic sent them panicking. And biting.

The lesson I learned when I was five years old came back in a rush; it didn’t matter what color they were, they bit and they hurt.

My other cousin, Ashley and I set out to clear him of his little biting enemies. I made him take off his shirt and tried to talk the poor guy into taking off his pants (which he did not), but luckily we cleared them a little slower than they covered him. I took a few ant bites of my own as I wiped him down and knew he was worse for the wear. What was stinging me a little was surely stinging him a lot.

I felt awful. Horrible, actually, and couldn’t stop apologizing. He was amazingly sweet about it and took it like a champ. He even suggested that we keep going and head to our next location(there was no chance on earth we were staying any longer in that ant infested area we were in, stunningly beautiful or not).

Jordan, I wish you all the best as you enter this next chapter of life. I hope you take it on like you did that day at our shoot. If life starts biting you, deal with it, wipe it off and then move on to the next best thing like a champ. You’re going to do great!