Last year I went to Yale to study my MFA program. When I arrived in New Haven, everyone told me it was not safe to take photos outside in New Haven at night. I also was afraid as I had received some emails from the police station about crimes in New Haven.
I always run back home at night. When I open the door of my house, I take a deep breath.
Then I lay down on the bed and have no energy to turn on the light.
I just watch the natural light come through the windows. Then I feel calm. These moments remind me of my childhood in a small village in China.
My grandparents raised me as my parents had to move to the city to earn money for me. Thirty years ago, Chinese people were so poor that my grandparents never turn on the lights at night. They just wanted to save some money. But I was a boy full of curiosity.
So I would always try to find some interesting things to witness at night such as the beauty of the firefly or the beauty of the moonlight.
I want to explore the glow of the night time light and rebuild our ability to find this kind of beauty and mysteriousness at night.