This election season it has felt like everywhere I look there is divisiveness, uncertainty, and lines being drawn in the sand. Because of our two-party system, it’s easy to be “this” or “that” - and we even begin to see ourselves that way— liberal or conservative, for or against, defined by the issues that are important to us. It’s easy to see people that disagree with us on these issues as being so very different from ourselves.

But if my journey as a photographer over the years has taught me anything, it’s that deep down people are pretty similar and really truly care about a lot of the same things. When I started my career as a photojournalist, the thing that always struck me was how beautiful it was to see people exactly as they were. To be able to pick up my camera and to capture the uniqueness that is the human experience.

Except that in many ways, it’s not all that unique. We all have different stories, but the things we care about as a whole aren’t that different at all. I remember as a young photographer, going to Veteran’s homes and meeting people I never would have crossed paths with otherwise. I took their pictures and they shared the things that were most important to them with me - about their fears, about their families, about how they wanted to be able to provide and create a world that was safer. Almost none of my experiences matched up with theirs, but we found common ground because of what we valued.

Photography allowed me to see that shared humanity up close. The true joy of my work has been and always will be the way that people, often with very different life experiences than I, open up and share their lives with me. It’s a constant reminder that even when are views are different, what we share is often greater than where we differ.

Don’t get me wrong - I know there is a lot of hate in the world. I know we live in a system that is unjust for many while benefitting a few greatly. But I want to focus on how it feels to see people up close. To cast aside our political views and instead have earnest conversations about what matters to us most. I think we’d be surprised by our similarities. As Brene Brown said “It’s hard to hate people up close” - it’s easy to dislike groups of people or think their views are nonsense. But by leaning in instead of leaning out, I hope to have more conversations that open my eyes and mind instead of judging from afar.