The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored

North of the home I grew up in, there is an abandoned property. On the property sits a dilapidated barn and house. In the summer of 2025, I began visiting the property. Through repeated visits, I photographed it and explored the remnants of life left behind.

The more time I spent at the property and with the photos, the more I began to see myself in the barn and house. Not my current self, but a later version of me. Like the property, I too will one day reach the end of my time. I will eventually be old, fragile, and quiet. The property began to serve as a reminder that an end — death — is the only thing promised in life. When my time comes, I want to know I got the most out of it. I want to be present for it all, for better or worse.