CARLOS PACHECO

10TH GRADE

A Veil Between Us

We walk into the kitchen at the same time. He looks at me, briefly, and I look at him. We both turn away. This is the extent of our interactions. People say we look eerily similar, but when I look in the mirror, I only see myself. I at times try my hardest to distance myself from feeling similar to him. It’s like we’re worlds apart. He is my father, but he feels more like a stranger I live with.

My father sits to the left of me at the dinner table every night, in silence. My mother tries to get us to speak but the more she pushes us, the further I want to be. I start to tense up as I anxiously wait for the words that never come. Our emotional distance makes the few physical feet between us feel like we’re on the opposite peaks of a canyon- we couldn’t be further apart.

Through my photographs, I highlight how similar my father and I are through our interests, while also exploring the distance that prevents our connection. Both of us collect comic books, play board and video games, yet somehow these shared interests don’t bring us closer together. I want to use my photography as a way to further understand our complicated relationship and hopefully bring us closer together.