Epiphany at the Lunch Table

by Amanda Rosa

October 2, 2016

What happened this week? Well I had a breakthrough. Sitting at the sticky, round table in the loud cafeteria I took some of the best photos I have ever taken. What a beautiful setting, right? No. Fluorescent lights filled with dead bugs hang from the ceiling and the background of most photos taken in the cafeteria feature friend groups sitting around tables discussing their days.

My epiphany however was quite beautiful. It was like a warm sun ray beaming through the dirty cafeteria window. The people I call my friends are more than just friends. They are my inspiration. They inspire to live my life to the fullest and to have fun while doing that.

“Are you taking my picture?”, my friends asked as I aimed my camera at them in the middle of eating my lunch.

Of course I was. So it wasn’t a nice setting, who cares? My friends made it the best setting in the world at that very moment. They made me feel happy and loved and in that moment, I wanted to capture my emotions, so I had to shoot those pictures. I wanted to bottle up those emotions in my camera so that I could always look at those pictures and feel home.

So in that loud cafeteria, at that sticky table, with the hustle and bustle of people walking in and out of the doors behind our table, I realized that these four people have changed the way I view life. They’ve changed the way I live life. They’ve changed my life for the better, and I could not be more blessed than I am right now with them by my side.

Michaela Gaffney at the lunch table September 29, 2016 between classes. Pondering whether she wants to be friends with someone who takes pictures at the lunch table. Photograph taken by Amanda Rosa.

Kevin Carmichael sitting at the lunch table after his color photography class on September 29, 2016. Carmichael is clearly happy it’s almost Friday. Photograph taken by Amanda Rosa.

Ashley Stevens smiling over her shoulder at lunch September 29, 2016. Stevens wasn’t ready for the picture I captured, yet somehow still looks like a model. Photograph taken by Amanda Rosa.

Christina Mandracchia poses for a quick picture at lunch on September 29, 2016. Little did she know that her friend was going to write a whole story about it. Photograph taken by Amanda Rosa.