ABOUT THE PROJECT
Where we are going
Why does it matter?
About the Author
When I graduated high school, one of my favorite teachers asked us to reflect on the question of “Where are we going from here?”
It’s a wide and overwhelming question that many of us then, and still today, didn’t have the answer to… and that’s okay. We know we won’t have the answers (even the most put together people can’t definitively know what the future has in store, no matter how many times they say they are going to become doctors). But it doesn’t mean that thinking of the future doesn’t instill a wave of butterflied panic as we (the young generations) think of moving froward into the world. It all works out, right? I sure hope so.
The reality is that none of us know what is going to happen in the future, but so much of our lives are centered around forward thinking: when are you going to get a good job? Where are you going to live? Who are you going to marry? What is the world going to look like? It’s overwhelming!
So, let’s address the lingering fear and obviousness- not knowing what’s going to happen sucks. A lot.
In the world that we live in that is filled with a degrading environment, social justice issues, and everything in between, it’s a lot of pressure on us as youth. But that pressure is what forms our future, and we must start thinking about how we live now, as that will impact where we are going.
This project begins the conversation that we all have thought about, whether we like it or not: Where do we go from here? And what does that mean in a world that seems to be falling apart.
​
Hi! My name is Lauren Trail and I am a senior BFA student at the University of Michigan, studying Art and Design with concentrations in illustration and film. With Minors in the Environment and Writing, I often center my creative work around environmental issues and questions of how to make a brighter future. Especially utilizing narratives in union with visuals, I hope to bring awareness to the anxieties and problems we all face and how to move forward as best as we are able... because no matter how dark it might be, there really are a lot of good things to look forward to. Just try not to think about it too much... or think about it too much and get overwhelmed and really motivated to change....
​
Anyway! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed letters to my future!