I can’t remember a time in my life before I had a camera. I’m sure there was one, but around the time I was able to start forming memories my parents gave me a present that would end up influencing me for years to come: a Fisher Price Perfect Shot. It had large handles on each side for easy gripping and two viewfinders to make it easier for us kids to look through. Molded blue plastic framed the lens and a simple red strap hung loosely by its side. I don’t know where that camera is today, or any of the pictures I took with it, but that bit of plastic and glass helped shape the way I experienced the world from then on. Some people are said to have a “photographic” memory; I’m not one of them. My life has often been plagued with friendly conversations that go something like this. Friend/Family Member: “Hey Will, remember that time we went to that awesome place and did that amazing thing?”. Me: “Um…No.” However, this often changes once I’m there, seeing the place again. All of the memories come flooding back, as if no time has passed at all.

Last year, receiving the decision to cancel NQR was difficult for a lot of students. I remember arriving to class late, a friend plopping the Daily in front of me, and immediately hurrying away so I could read the paper cover to cover.  I sat in the Lane Hall bathroom and read every article three times, returning to class only after it had ended.  When my professor asked what was wrong, I simply replied, “I don’t feel well.”

A little over a year from now, the Mayan calendar will complete its ‘great cycle’ of thirteen, initiating what the Mayans predicted would be the end of days. Other traditions and religious sects have made similarly apocalyptic predictions.