beautiful nothing

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WRITTEN & DESIGNED BY ANDREA FALKE

A PERSONAL EXPLORATION OF THE BEAUTY DISCOVERED THROUGH LONELINESS

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NOTHINGBeautiful

e4 _BEAUTIFUL NOTHING

A PERSONAL EXPLORATION OF THE BEAUTY DISCOVERED THROUGH LONELINESS

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NOTHINGBeautiful

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uA personal exploration of the beauty in loneliness leads me from my own personal lonely home out into the bustling city of San Francisco. While I have no idea what I will find, I set out on this journey to explore a world without the distractions of friends and technology to see what the world is like when you take the time to take notice of the things around you. While we live in this city that is constantly full of life how do things change when you go on an exploration of the same space but by yourself. We are so consumed day to day by our technol-ogy that we are never really alone. What if instead we spend time without any distractions to find true beauty in those things around us that we may otherwise ignore or not notice because of our everyday distractions.

What are those things you begin to notice without your typical everyday distractions? Is there a new world that begins to shine through? This is what I set out to find.

TODAY I SET OUT ON AN EXPLORATION IN THE

CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO. I LEAVE ALL TECHNOLOGY

BEHIND EXCEPT FOR MY CAMERA AND HEAD OUT

ON A JOURNEY TO DISCOVER THE BEAUTY FOUND

WHEN SPENDING TIME COMPLETELY ALONE.

the beginning of a JOURNEYu


_ M I N D R A C I N G

need cof fee now

I jus t want to lay here al l day

such a lazy ass

need an idea. . .

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_Laying in bed alone af ter he goes to work

_i t ’s l ike there i s nothing to do but to jus t l ie there

_so many thoughts about what to do

_but ins tead i jus t s tay there and think

_ M I N D R A C I N G so alone

such a lazy ass

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NOTHING IS MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN WATCHING THE SUNRISE IN A CITY THAT IS STILL ASLEEP, WITH NO SOUND OTHER THAN THE BIRDS CHIRPING

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_best pick -me-up

_theraputic

_cof fee i s a must

_ T H E K I C K S T A R T

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_best pick -me-up

_theraputic

_cof fee i s a must


LOOKINGUP

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AND DOWN u


_Standing and wait ing with no technology to use

_I begin to take a look at this place I haven’ t been before

_Never have I not iced that not only am I alone here

But so i s ever yone around me

_ G A Z I N G

down the empty tunnels

there i s a new perspect ive

Ever ybody here i s alone too

this place i s so empty

desolate underground


There is something that I’ve never noticed because I too generally am stuck staring at my cell phone. Today however, I realize that just about everyone is so plugged into their technology. Whether they are checking their email, on facebook, reading or listening to music, just about everyone’s main focus is technology. I assume that I never realized this because I too am guilty of the technology obsession. Why do nothing when there is so much to do right at your fingertips?

I start to notice how interesting the BART is, not like any other subway system that I have been to. The mission station is bland and small, just a narrow hallway that makes me feel almost claustrophobic. The tunnel is small and trains continue to zip in and out every few minutes. I watch them as I wait for my train to appear from the darkness of the tunnel.

The train arrives and I board with a few others who rush on like they will never make it if they aren’t on first. I patiently watch and wait jumping on at the

WHILE EVERYONE AT THE BART IS ALONE, THEY ARE SPENDING MORE TIME STARING AT THEIR PHONES THEN ACTUALLY ENJOYING WHAT IS AROUND THEM.

last second. The train screeches through the tunnel and like magic, I arrive in a new part of town. Getting off the train, I make my way up the stairs with many others almost as if we are being herded along. Luckily I am almost out of the depths. I look up the escalator at the

looking up as i rise out of the dark depths of the bart i can’t help but feel refreshed.

beautiful day that is awaiting my exploration. While I have almost just begun, I have already become so much more aware of things around me. Without distractions it is almost like I have heightened senses. I move onward.

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_It has only been one hour

_I ’ve walked this same path dozens o f t imes ye t not once have I spent so much t ime

s taring

upup

up


I set out from the BART towards a hillside. I’ve never gone this direction but from a distance it already looks beautiful. As I continue walking down the sidewalk I stare down and try to pay attention to all the interesting patterns and textures in the sidewalk. Every few steps new things appear and while it may seem uninteresting, the patterns are really quite interesting. I look up and down searching for stunning images of the day to day things around me.

I get to this hill and I’m stunned and the colors and motion of the bushes. I sit there for some times just watching them get blown back and forth. Behind me is the city full of people doing there typical day to day activities, but here there a just a few people around. They too seem to be taking in all that is around them, the nothingness that exists at this San Francisco hilltop

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I BEGIN TO WALK WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT

WHERE I’M GOING TO END UP. THERE ARE SO MANY

BEAUTIFUL OUTDOOR SPACES TO EXPLORE IN THIS

CITY AND WITHOUT EVERYDAY DISTRACTIONS I AM

FINALLY ABLE TO ENJOY THEM IN PEACE.

an adventure OUTSIDEu

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_I venture out on this lonely tr ip

_having no concept o f what to expect

_wil l I not ice new things

_or wi l l this jus t be another day l ike al l the others


A personal exploration of the beauty in loneliness idiumus, utea redit, vertam egit? Egerf inatio ex num fuius. Ed consumunum dum ubliam tus. At vivid de ceriure baturs oratus aut por unum silis la dior horatquo ina, virmilin tur, cone con vignonen vit. Soli sulum inaret Castimil con detiem aciem maccia? Opicatia terei pariam, Cupio, con satiaedite per inam ficiemo ltorturbit; imor avemus. O temqua neret grare es tus; nonlosterei fat facci-ende publiu mena, ta re mo vat, consuli acciamponsis spestio, es supplisum aut pra ertabem nontil vigna, catqua L. Runum in trum ad nonum sentiliae tatatura cibus bonostra? Ro, nit videatque mei pri publiam tisside ressoli natesse iam o num perei et acieniquam me etorus, critabem sumunum dem inat quos fit.

morningEARLY

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Vivenatus, serfes? Rurbiti linit. Ipsedef acerdiis li pultum igit etre etis consum nox non dis commo enatus lingul veribus iam pore prehem pribuntrum quitere peri-orum, sediis intemnes ve, silles es facesto ravenductus renicastiaci etiam adefec fir intenam hossupio it. An nessat, num parid re iuris sit.

Us tre ta manternium adeorum portellego te, quem rei is? Opio videlique et? Mus estere forunterem, mora, Ti. Mae et L. Simium prium omnem, quamdiente, ocultod con ta, factum mena, quo te quod ressulla ver inguludactum pro vivivivehem iptis, perehem mis bon-dienatium condam antinatumus, que adhuit; in hostus huces ervis iur lintuam pri, furnum porunum iniqua ex nemorum lartum tante te resi etis. Fuidiem ommo vis

Cat. Enarbit; non ta seripti, quemprei publicio cae diis. Me factorum Palarivis furniqu idionte stiliciae ta dessule ssolto veremus nessum iampos, nost? Nium tam nequis imanum tem re fintili culvide labefactus comnendam efacta, deffrei sent. Nihilic ulisse niribul occipse, quam, sus inte rem Romni factudepotas dum esilicus aus, signos noctusc ribunum potiaciam movenihiliis condesi nataber unceporei pereo, catiael ibutuidem menir liactorena audefex nisquem. Estiliqui pulviurem intius et aturs moltiam pra, quemnor in nirti in sera? Opimus, contem te, Catatium tudac rentuam auret cons inesciesilic rescrissa resi supic rem pat.THE BEST PLACES

I’VE FOUND ARE THOSE I NEVER KNEW EXISTED

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_Nothing i s bet ter then making i t

_Get t ing to a place that you have never experienced before in the past

s taring

fur therfur ther

out


home


uSadly this personal exploration of the beauty in loneli-ness is coming to an end. I wasn’t sure what I would discover during this day or if I would discover anything at all. Luckily I did discover something, the beauty found when you unplug from technology and go out on your own to experience the beauty of life. Things that I had walked by for two years which I had never noticed were now much more obvious to me. I was able to go to places I had never been before and discovered places that I never knew existed. I did all this by just going out on my own.

This journey led me to new and exciting places I have never been and I enjoyed the entire experience. Without a cell phone I felt completely free and was able to really start to pay attention to the amount of beauti-ful nothing that I was surrounded with daily.

I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED A PLACE ANYTHING

LIKE SAN FRANCISCO. IN ONE DIRECTION I CAN SEE

THE ENTIRE CITY, BUSTLING WITH LIFE. IN THE

OTHER THE CALMING CRASHING OF THE OCEAN.

nothing beats this SCENERYu

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AND I’M ON MY WAY BACK HOMEu u

beautiful nothing

Documents

i n d r

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jus t s tay

technology obsession

n gdown

true beauty