“I would say with everything that’s happened… I realize how fragile everything is, even living in in America where you know, it looks like it’s a first world country and you encounter a lot of first world problems that are very minimal compared to what other countries have to deal with. I guess fragility is kind of everywhere and at different scales which is what helped me realize that yes were a first word country but were definitely far from great. It has also just helped me appreciate where I am internally, with my state of life. Getting to be with my family, making sure they’re safe.

I’ve also gotten to appreciate my home, being far away from Miami for a long period of time, almost 4 years, made me miss it. I was already home in March so when everything started I was already learning to appreciate it so it just accelerated as time went on. I’m just taking my time with everything, diving deep into what raised me, like my local ecosystem here. In terms of the small mom and pop shops or the local fauna. I’m very blessed to be surrounded by such a diverse ecosystem, and to me the beach is very special, I try to go at least three times a week- literally. I am also just learning to explore things that I may have overlooked before, since everything has slowed down, I just feel like I can pay more attention.”

*Alex took his own self portrait. December 2020.