Perspective

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/child-brides/sinclair-photography

     Every little girl dreams of her wedding day. The beautiful dress, the love and laughter in the air, the man of her dreams standing at the alter waiting for her to walk down the aisle... Unfortunately for some, the sickening truth forces it's way for a much different reality.
     When I was five years old, I very much doubt getting married was something I was considering, or could even begin to understand. Hell, there are millions of adults who still don't understand how to navigate a marriage. Reading National Geographic's photo essay on Child Brides definitely made me think. I realized how grateful I am to be able to make choices for myself, and for the freedom to love whom I please. The arrangement of photos, which all are focused on different stories of girls in different stages of their marriages, shed an interesting light on the concept of child brides. It first introduces the idea using a photo that shocks it's audience, much like an 'attention-getter' when writing, and is accompanied by the next series of photos that go on to expand it's viewers horizons on the topic. The photographer could have been efficient if she had simply wanted to just display what a child bride was, but she seemed to want to tell more of a story than that. The rest of her photos rise up and give off an almost triumphant feeling- we meet girls that have successfully resisted being brought into the child bride culture and those that are receiving an education as well. To me, it's not suppose to be a saddening essay, but one of resilience.
      One of the captions attached to a photo of two Yemeni brides stated that "...girls see marriage as saving themselves from the control of their families". Is there freedom in engagement? Is trading one hostility for another really a salvage at all? It's hard to look at this essay and not be shocked and appalled. I think as Americans, we sometimes forget that there are millions of other people out there who don't think and don't act how we do. I suppose we can never really know or understand the experiences of others, since such vast differences divide our cultures. However, the more we try to see; whether it be through text, or photography or any other outlet for understanding, the better.