I shot this during my University’s last few weeks of semester. I was really tired and overworked, and so were the students I photographed. I gave the project my all and it ended up being a relaxing diversion from the academic worries.

Meeting the people around me was so nice. I finally connected houses to their occupants in the area. Some invited me in and we connected over similar living situations. The neighbo(u)r project made home feel more familiar.

Approaching big groups of people on lawns and porches was a few steps outside my comfort zone. Those encounters turned out to be the coolest. I stayed around a few times long after I was done shooting.

I took off on foot in my neighborhood named “East Campus” it’s directly connected to Mizzou. all the houses are big, old, and packed with students. I met a lot of them and tried to capture the surroundings into their photos.

the state of being strangers with these people melted so quickly, I showed up with a smile and friendliness and it seemed to really bring people together.

I did, people stop me now and ask about the photos. I think it made everyone stop and consider how good we have it here. -Ethan Cannon