This year, 2020, is a big year for the whole world. The Corona virus has affected everybody’s lives. It also affected mine, I had to leave my adopted home in Italy and return back to place of birth.
Yet a funny thing happened. I started to realize how important it is to be with the people I love and to appreciate them while they are still around. The world is changing every second and life was changed completely into something different within two weeks.
This project started the moment I had to leave Italy due to the virus. I decided to try to visualize the feelings I had as I was traveling back home.
I took a completely empty train from Florence to Rome and the first time I saw a completely empty Rome. It as if the city was inaialated.
When I arrived in Taiwan there was a huge contrast. Rome was empty but in Taiwan there were people everywhere. Everyone was in mask.
That scene was like the end of the world, people escaped from dangerous countries back to Taiwan, with panicked faces. Due to the law I had to be sequestered in a room for a two week quarantine. In those two weeks I couldn’t see my family, I mean, they were allowed to bring me some foods but we barely had any body connection.
That time I felt lonely, the first time in life I desired so much to be with my family like when I was younger… a past life. From the time I was 13 I studied and worked away from home, I used to like being alone and independent. But the corona virus situation made me want to see my family badly and it put me in a depression.
After my quarantine I realized more about the importance of cherishing. To look at the Corona virus in a good way. It gave me have chance to be with my family. When I look at them I realize they are already older. Being away years and years from home, I realized made me miss them a lot and my sister just turned 18. I could not believe this, I never participated in her growth and she became a big girl.
Alive is a gift, while a lot of people is dying, loosing people they love in the world, my life is so grateful. I can be here, the land I was born in and with the people I love while they are still healthy. I can have this chance to stop here, to look at them, to understand them more.
Alive, for me its just our individual feeling, the religion, family, and the nature environment.
When I returned I received a big surprise. My stepfather finally became our official father by law. Since I was 10, he met my mom and they started to be together. Having no child, he took us as his daughters in blood and treated us even better than our real dad.
A childhood memorie. When mom just started dating my stepfather, there was a night when we went for a family trip. When we returned home I saw my real dad’s car was waiting outside.
My dad jumped out from his car with two golf clubs in hands, he started yelling and beating my mom and my stepfather. in that moment, the only thing my stepfather did was to push us to the side and he ask my dad to go with him. He was without any weapons and he let my dad beat him until both of golf clubs broke. My dad left with satisfaction. My stepfather was all in blood. Right at that moment I understood who would stay with us to protect us forever and he did.
For me, my stepfather is a hero. He was never a rich man but was willing to give me everything he could. He says he is not smart. He couldn’t make lot of money but he would rather use his his hands and labor to build dreams for our family. He will be there and wont ever leave. He gave me all the love and he did everything my mom needed and never fought with us. Years and years passed. My stepfather and my mom spent all their effort to fix the finance problem my dad left and finally, last year in 2019, they finished all of their debt and got married.
After a year of fighting in court, after I got home, we finally got the announcement that we are a real family under the law.
So 2020 for my family is remarkable. To record this amazing year, I choose their stories as my project. I made images of them to show who they are to me and how grateful I am to have them.
Chin Hu | FUA-AUF Career Photography Student
