Emotion portrayed: frustration. During the school day.

Emotion portrayed: Happiness. After school.

Emotion portrayed: Excitement. Before school.

Emotion portrayed: Boredom. During school.

Kids in the United States spend 1,000 out of the 6,000 hours a year in school. With that amount of time spent in the classroom, school is bound to shape our lives significantly. I chose to highlight the influence that school has on the students at iSchool and other NYC high schools. As teenagers, we experience a variety of experiences and emotions in our daily lives, and with most of our time spent as school, it can be one of the root causes of our actions. These photos come together to communicate the ups and downs of each subject’s experience in high school. Every one of these photos was taken inside or after school, which also shows how our lives revolve around its starting and ending time. My goal was for these photos to show the range of emotions that are shaped by school. 

The first image is showing the emotion of frustration. This feeling was brought on by the stress of tests and assignments building up before the end of the quarter. I thought that this was an important feeling to show when talking about school because it can be relatable to other students in the same position. In a fast-paced working environment, it is easy to feel behind, which can provoke overwhelming feelings such as frustration, nervousness, and irritation. This picture was taken outside on a sunny day. This contrast of the weather and the subject’s emotional reaction show that even though all other factors in someone’s life can be good, it can only take one thing going wrong to change a mood. The background colors in this photo are bright but still muted to show that this feeling is strong, but does not overpower the others for me. 

The second image shows feelings of joy and freedom. This was inspired by the emotions that my friends were communicating at that moment. The photo captures two people dancing and laughing after a day at school. It represents the freedom that comes with being a high school student. Even though this moment took place away from the school’s campus, the subjects were able to relax and have fun because their workload was light that day, and they could spend more time with friends instead of studying and doing homework. School is not the only impacting factor in a student’s life, we all have hobbies and interests away from the classroom, but the amount of time we have away from school dictates those things. This moment reminded me that school is not all stress and assignments, it has many bright moments. Like all of my other photos, the sky is blue, to communicate that there is always an underlying brightness. 

The third image displays excitement and energy. The subject of this photo is eagerly getting her coffee from the coffee cart. This action has become a morning ritual for many iSchool students, to mark the beginning of another day. I was inspired to take this photo because it shows how someone can change their mood, just by something as small as a little bit of caffeine. The subject’s outreaching hand and happy expression help to shows motivation to start a new day. This image also portrays an interaction that comes with attending school, outside of the building itself. The brightness of the photo supports the positive mood that the subject is in.

The final photo in this series shows the feeling of boredom. This disinterest represents the tiredness that sometimes comes with having a lot of work to do. I was inspired to take this picture because I feel like for me when all other emotions are overwhelming, it can sometimes fade into a neutral and confusing mood. I communicated this strange feeling through a defeated expression and body language. The colors are muted, like the previous photos, but the sky is a little darker, to signify a duller mood.