The photo I chose to recreate is a picture of me dressed up as a cowgirl.  I am about 4 years old at my day care center, and we had a pony come to the camp that day so that we could take pictures with it and ride him.  I chose this photo because I remember the day vividly.  I was eager to start taking pictures; I loved being in front of the camera.  I have never been a shy person, and this was an opportunity to have all the attention on me.    

            Although it was somewhat challenging, I was able to recreate the photograph.  I definitely do not have the same style that I had when I was 4.  I have long hair now, and polka dots are not in my wardrobe.  In order to get creative, I used my brownie vest from Girl Scouts in order to have a brown vest like I wore in the picture.  I borrowed my dad’s cowboy hat that probably has not been worn in over a decade, and I had to buy a yellow bandana.  To somewhat recreate the shirt, I layered two shirts to get the two colors that I am wearing, pink and white.  I smiled with the open mouth, and looked to the camera with a squint in my eye.  Another challenge was trying to figure out what to do for the background.  The day care center has since been remodeled, and not too many places have wired fences anymore, especially with a big blue tire in the background.  The hardest part was the fact that I kept laughing when my friend was taking my picture. I was having such a good time; it was hard to get the photo that I needed.  Despite the few obstacles, I did the best that I could with my Tucson surroundings.

             This project was pretty fun.  It was challenging to try to get the exact pose I was in because every picture is a captured moment in time, and to attempt to recreate it brought about a lot of laughs and resulted in many pictures taken.  What amazed me most was the comparison between the two pictures.  I am honestly in awe of how much I have grown up.  Now I understand the meaning of “kids growing up to fast.”  I am glad that I did this project because it helped me reflect on the past, but also made me excited for the changes that the future will bring.