Artemis Awakes
I am an Armenian Lebanese civil war survivor.
I grew up in Beirut, mostly in bomb shelters.
I studied by candlelight for my High School Baccalaureate exams.
I left Beirut by boat under cover of night at age 16 to Larnaca, Cyprus, then eventually by plane to the US where I attended University and then earned a Master's degree from MIT.
I met my husband in Boston where he was training to be a surgeon. We raised two beautiful children in downtown Chicago where my husband grew up.
This city has been so very good to me as an immigrant and to my family. Both my children are now in college here in Chicago.
When my youngest left for College last Autumn I began to go on long meditative walks (a walkabout of sorts) on the lakefront to escape an empty house and to reflect on past accomplishments and on this new phase of life that lies ahead. I took up photography to document these walks. It is a time of quiet reflection: perhaps the softness and gentleness in my work reflect this?
While I can not return to live in the Beirut of my childhood (the Lebanon I once knew no longer exists)
I derive great joy from this beautiful city I now call home.
From Randa, for Soul & Style
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