Nostalgia: Wistful Desire

For as long as I can remember, I have loved the English language. The fact that certain words can take you to new and exciting places. Or can exactly describe a feeling deep within your heart. I mean, I can't always EXACTLY describe what I mean without rambling on for several paragraphs, but apparently some people can.

Despite the undeniable power of language, sometimes pictures alone have an uncanny ability to transport and even transform us. To take us back. To help us remember. Or to give us hope. Or to take us to a place we have never been, and yet long to go.

This week's theme at I Heart Faces is nostalgia. The dictionary defines it as a "a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time."

And that my friends, describes exactly what I felt the minute I saw this picture. A pang of longing for these kids. For the innocence of my own youth: an innocence they will probably never themselves experience. I look at each of their faces, some solemn and steadfast, others with shy smiles or hidden eyes. And for each of them I yearn for a happiness I can only hope they might have known, or one day will know.
Not to mention that it somehow manages to perfectly juxtapose the past and the present. To put "Cowboy" (for realz, that's the only name we knew him by) right next to Obama. Kids from the city right smack-dab in the middle of farm life . . . It's a beautiful way for them to learn and grow. And a beautiful place for change to start.

For more nostalgic fun, visit I Heart Faces!