Political Awareness/Home: Behind Closed Doors-Jacqueline

In 1988, I was 8 years old.
I remember the presidential election, but not much about it. We talked about it in school. I remember that Bush was elected, and I did not like him very much. I don't remember where those feelilngs came from , but I remember not liking him. My immediate family isn’t very political, so I don't think it really effected me, personally.

In 1991, I was 11. Operation desert storm began. I remember the news coverage and the yellow ribbons, learning about POW/MIA and how important it is to support our troops.
It affected my cousins and my uncle/aunt. He is a lieutenant colonel for the army and he was over there at the time. My mom was worried about him, but I guess I was too young to get involved.

In 1996, I was 16. Clinton was elected as president and most people around me were pretty satisfied with him. It had no real effect.

In January, 1998, I was 17 years old. I remember the exacerbation of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. It was covered almost 24/7 on the news and in the newspapers. It made me realize how incredibly drama-hungry our country is, and how manipulative our media is. It also made me wonder why it was more important than real political issues that deserve more attention. It did not make me hate him as a president.
On 9/11/2001, I was almost 21 years old. I remember my neighbor waking me up to tell me that I should go and pick my little brother up from school because we were being bombed. I turned on the television to see what was really happening and I was in shock. I went to get my little brother, because it wasn’t clear exactly what was going to happen next. All of the parents were there, getting their children. Everyone was panicked. It was very surreal.
I think that this event heightened everyone’s political awareness. It was a wake-up call for everyone. Our country is not invincible. I was more aware every time that I traveled, almost fearful. It changed a lot for me. I made sure to vote in every election following 9/11. The impact on our country because of this so-called, “War on Terror” is tremendous. Our economy is crashing, my husband is having a hard time finding a job in his field, and I am afraid that I will have the same problems.

My Life and Political Events
I believe that political events: have influenced my life to some degree

Home to me, is the people in your life. Even if there were no structure to dwell in, home would still be the people whose live's you inhabit and vice versa.
For this project, I have several ideas. One is an obvious relationship to home: the people who inhabit my life.
My other idea is this: I went to Greenwich Village in NY, recently. There were so many sex shops...5 in less than a 1/2 of a block. This made me wonder what it would be like to explore home as a private space, and to expose some of the things that go on behind closed doors. I am not sure that I would be able to find that many people willing to let me photograph them, but I know enough to let me photograph their things. This is definitely something that I would like to experiment with.
I have had several other fleeting ideas that have not really been as feesible as I would have liked, so I am moving on from them.
I know through experience with our last project that things don't always take shape like you want them to. I know that I may have to experiment with several different things before I get it right. So, I guess I will see exactly where it takes me soon.