PERSONAL PROJECT // FIRST DAY OF THIRD GRADE

My social media feed is filled today with parents who have posted photos of their smiling children, standing on the front stoop holding their little boards showing their grade in school. Some of the teenagers are a bit grumpy, which can be expected, but it seems as if most of the little ones are pretty cheery. A lot of comments like "Where has the time gone?" and "They're growing up so fast!" accompany the comments.

We moved over the summer which led Greydon to change schools. Today was a first day at a new school where he knows only a couple kids. Today's photo story is a bit different because he would not let me photograph him the usual manner. He's mad at me. He's mad at Fletcher. He's mad that we moved. He refused to eat breakfast.

These images show fear, anger, anxiety. I didn't photograph the tears. He wouldn't let me. I did manage to get one smile. The last two images were taken with my phone because he wouldn't let me take my camera outside to the bus stop. He held on to my arm while waiting for the bus. I'm sure he'll be fine, but when I returned inside it was the first time I had ever cried on the first day of school.