The Aristocrat's Manifesto

This photo sums up the theme for my blog. For some observers it may imply some level of elitism or some personal aspirations of achieving substantial wealth. To some, the picture may elicit intrigue for other reasons: merely the car;s design, nice cars in general, and the quest for the finer things in life. However, there is so much more to notice. To a special few, they notice the cobblestone streets the architecture of the building beside the car, and the sheer elegance and beauty captured by this black and white photo. Photography is an artform in that it seeks to tell a silent story. It challenges us to channel our imagination in translating the details of the photograph into some material thought or concept. It is of course all subjective. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, and this photo may translate differently from individual to individual. Does that make one's interpretation more or less special? I have spent the first quarter of my life coming to terms with the traditional institutions that help to mold us as individuals and my individual identity. We grow in the image of our parents, our churches, our education, and our social groups. And at some point there is a breakthrough, and we begin to develop an identity distinctly ours. That is of course if you seek that. Some are satisfied being safely nestled in the lifetime care of their parents, religion, and friends. And for some, there is a desire to break the mold. The truth those who are 'different' realize it from a very early age.

If you are like me, you always felt unsettled in a lot of settings. As an adult, I have stopped trying to explain or conform. I enjoy being different. I realized my identity once I stopped looking for it, and once I stopped looking I realized that it was there all along. I view this photo as more than an expensive car. I see and acknowledge all the work that went in to the construction of this car, the architecture of the surrounding location, and the meticulous attention to detail that went into capturing the light so that it captures the right angles of the car.

I am different not because I choose to be, but because I don't know any other way to live. That is not haughty or boastful, that is comfort and contentment. I am an imperfect being and I will never be perfect. But I constantly strive towards being a little better person each day. I want to be the best person I can be, and I want others to achieve the best life and identity they can achieve. "Aristo" means best in Greek. And so with this blog, I want to display a lot of the best things in life; art, music, style, culture, love, friendship, and family. And because I think that you cannot appreciate the best without examining those things that fall short of perfection, I will discuss politics, apparent social contradictions, all the "isms," and some of the ugly that perpetuates on Earth. All the while, I want to challenge your paradigms in the same way that mine our challenged everyday.

This but one step in my mission, and the best is yet to come.