Matthew and I take photography classes a couple times a week and we're really enjoying them. The course we took over the summer was so-so, but these ones are great, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with the teachers.
For the first class we took, we had to bring in a photo that we liked every week and then talk about it. We did this for the last hour of a 3-hour class, and when there's only 10 people in the class, you get REALLY bored looking at the same photos. Needless to say, it was our least favourite part of the class.
So we were a little pessimistic this term when our new teacher asked us to bring in photos every week. Not just one, but many photos we've taken, and all of them related to the assignments he's given us. In fact, instead of ever handing our photos in, we just bring them in, display them for the class and spend at least an hour going through everyone's. It sounds like more (perhaps a LOT more...) of the same, right?
Wrong! This teacher is great. Without evening realizing it, I've been learning the course objectives simply by his commentary on everyone's photos. I've been learning about diagonals, positioning of the subject, contrast, and the like, simply by discussing the photos. The only thing I don't like about it so much is that it's a lot of standing around in one place for long periods of time, which my legs and back just can't handle, so I usually drag around a chair with me while everyone else stands. No-one seems to mind, because apparently you get special priveleges when you're pregnant. It's kindof silly really, but I'll get to that later.
Anyway, why am I mentioning all of this? I guess it's not totally necessary, but it does set the stage for a hilarious exchange I witnessed last night that I have to type on here, for fear that I'll forget it.
This girl, maybe 23 years old, is in the class, and she's cute as can be. Very sweet, curly hair, and even talks with the higher, soft voice that completely suits her. The kind where you just chuckle when they're a little clueless. Except last night I was trying my best to not burst out into fits of uncontrollable laughter!
She had brought in her photos. One of the photos she took at her work place, and had got her boss to pose in the shot, except you can't see the boss too well because of the technique she used. Here is what ensued:
Girl - that's my boss leaning over the counter for a game
Guy - it looks like you're working with Helen Hunt there (you know, the actress from Twister, Pay it Forward, What Women Want, Castaway, etc.)
Girl - (eyes lighting up, and saying excitedly) Oh! You know her?!
(me, trying to figure out if this girl seriously knows Helen Hunt, or if she's just playing along with guy's sarcasm or not-so-funny joke...)
(guy, trying to figure out what to say, because he's completely taken aback by her response. Silence throughout the class...)
Guy - your boss' name is Helen??
Girl - Yeah, (class begins to laugh because, what are the odds? Girl still doesn't get it...) she took a photography class here last year, so she probably knows some of you guys that way! (still excited people know her boss.) Anyway, yeah, there she is, and I got this one because it was shooting upwards, blah blah blah.....
I know it might be one of those things that are better experienced in person, but trust me when I say, it was awesome.
Anyway, special priveleges just because you're pregnant. You're not allowed to stand on chairs to get things, whether you're 6 months or 6 weeks along. You always get to the front of the food line and are teased if you are eager to eat (seriously, I've always been one of the first up for food. It's really not the pregnancy.) People don't even let you fold and carry chairs, or carry an empty cooler. If you're moody, it's just the hormones (a little frustrating when you want to be taken seriously) and if you only like one of the gross things someone brought to a pot-luck, you must be craving it.
I just chuckle about the 'priveleges' and sometimes I sigh. Because really, I feel fine, and I think it's more the new mothers who need a hand here and there, but as soon as the baby comes, you get treated as if you're no long a starving, tired, mess of emotions with extra weight to carry.
It's so much the opposite though! If you're breastfeeding, you need more calories than if you're you're pregnant, you're getting less sleep because you're not only awake for half the night, you're UP half the night, there's post-partum depression, and the baby is still growing, reaching 10, 15, even 20 lb's by 4 months old, so instead of carrying pregnancy weight, you're carrying the baby. And the low-iron thing? That can come after you give birth too, due to loss of blood, so it can be adding to your tiredness, and you'll *still* feel out of breath.
And this isn't limited to women who give birth to have children, I might add. New mothers through adoption are sleeping just as much throughout the night as if they'd given birth to the baby, and apparently adopting a 2-year-old is pretty much the same because they're up a lot, trying to adjust to their new environment. Depression can still hit you because your life has changed so unexpectedly, and if you're struggling to bond with your child, or if you have difficulty with feelings of entitlement. You have a baby or toddler to carry around which will be a shock to anyone's arms (and feet if you're not used to carring the weight gradually, as pregnant women do.) And there are other similarities too, I'm sure.
Anyway, I don't know what the point of this ramble was. I guess I just feel like I'm being treated so differently when I wish I was being treated like my normal self. Sure I need to sit a bit more during choir practice or our photography class, but most of the time I'm being treated like a ticking time-bomb that might go into labour with the slightest provocation. It's a little unnerving because I wonder how much of it is true, and then I start to worry about myself more than is necessary. I love going to see the midwives, because instead of treating pregnancy like a medical condition (as most people treat me), they are empowering, encouraging, and very realistic when it comes to the body's capabilities.
Anyway, this wasn't meant to be long, and I'm starting to bore myself, so I'm so sorry if you're bored with this post too! I'll finish it up, and will only write again this week if I have something truly interesting to say. :D
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