Its been five years since I've seen these pictures but once I started scrolling I couldn't stop the nostalgia from flooding my system. Its funny to think that all of this occurred before Tumblr when we were still worried about our Myspace profiles. These were monumental events for us and while not everything is here on the blog I can see a pathway through every picture to at least 10 more. Derec was still learning how to harness light aesthetically but theres a significant sense of learning that permeates this blog both from life and art. Just thinking about Derec sitting uploading picture straight from his camera to this blogspot brings a smile to my face. Reading him say sorry for procrastinating makes me laugh. Its hard to imagine we were ever this young and interconnected.
Towards the end of the Veterats era the skatepark community was grotesque and unrecognizable from the faces I see in these pictures. Social narrowing was taking its full effect as we cared more about status than homies whom we spent our longest days. The parking lot was a cesspool for laziness and judgment. Someone like me who had been a part of Veterats since the beginning was getting shunned and ignored, uninvited and looked down upon. When I stopped caring about the park our friendships had already dissolved or were becoming strained and I was lucky enough to find people who like me for who I am not just that I ride a skateboard. People change, I get that, but selfishness has always been a Veterat strong suit.
I never really knew my place growing up and always imagined if I cared enough I'd be accepted by skaters who also happened to be artists. I wasn't incredibly interested in the tricks or activity but the art surrounding the skateboarding culture kept me up at night dreaming. I wish I would have stopped pretending to be a skater and had focused on being a musician/filmmaker but that just didn't seem good enough at the time. I realize now that I'm actually good at things, like writing and researching, and I wasn't nearly as fat as I thought I was! I wish I had cared more about myself than all of you but I can't deny this park shaped my life.
I wouldn't be into the things I am today without Veterans skatepark. I'm happier now but looking at my face and all of your faces I can't help but see a certain kind of calmness about it all like we knew we'd look back and say "that was totally me!" (I did). I'm glad that Derec chose the pictures he did because at the time I was angry at not being on here more. But I know I was here for most of it, even if its indirectly. I'll always know this stuff and I'll come back every so often to regurgitate my nostalgia, hopefully for something more substantial. Its easy to see where everything went wrong for a lot of people, this time was their apex. I'm sure a lot of you still cling onto the same customs as you did when you were 16 which is sad. Grow up. Accept that people are different and weird, embrace them.
I used to hate a lot of you but I've grown disenchanted with that feeling, now I don't really care what most of you are up to. But like it or not we shared some important moments and I still feel the sensation of our friendship. Lets not forget that and if anyone ever sees this know I'm a happier person for realizing 90 percent of the Veterats were fake and idiotic. Shout out to everyone that kept it real with me: Derec, Gage, Bryan, Tim, David R., Dominic, Izzy, Furnace crew, Mike D, K Chaps, Anuk and John. Everyone else unless you know we tight, suck a dick!!!
Its been five years since I've seen these pictures but once I started scrolling I couldn't stop the nostalgia from flooding my system. Its funny to think that all of this occurred before Tumblr when we were still worried about our Myspace profiles. These were monumental events for us and while not everything is here on the blog I can see a pathway through every picture to at least 10 more. Derec was still learning how to harness light aesthetically but theres a significant sense of learning that permeates this blog both from life and art. Just thinking about Derec sitting uploading picture straight from his camera to this blogspot brings a smile to my face. Reading him say sorry for procrastinating makes me laugh. Its hard to imagine we were ever this young and interconnected.
ReplyDeleteTowards the end of the Veterats era the skatepark community was grotesque and unrecognizable from the faces I see in these pictures. Social narrowing was taking its full effect as we cared more about status than homies whom we spent our longest days. The parking lot was a cesspool for laziness and judgment. Someone like me who had been a part of Veterats since the beginning was getting shunned and ignored, uninvited and looked down upon. When I stopped caring about the park our friendships had already dissolved or were becoming strained and I was lucky enough to find people who like me for who I am not just that I ride a skateboard. People change, I get that, but selfishness has always been a Veterat strong suit.
I never really knew my place growing up and always imagined if I cared enough I'd be accepted by skaters who also happened to be artists. I wasn't incredibly interested in the tricks or activity but the art surrounding the skateboarding culture kept me up at night dreaming. I wish I would have stopped pretending to be a skater and had focused on being a musician/filmmaker but that just didn't seem good enough at the time. I realize now that I'm actually good at things, like writing and researching, and I wasn't nearly as fat as I thought I was! I wish I had cared more about myself than all of you but I can't deny this park shaped my life.
I wouldn't be into the things I am today without Veterans skatepark. I'm happier now but looking at my face and all of your faces I can't help but see a certain kind of calmness about it all like we knew we'd look back and say "that was totally me!" (I did). I'm glad that Derec chose the pictures he did because at the time I was angry at not being on here more. But I know I was here for most of it, even if its indirectly. I'll always know this stuff and I'll come back every so often to regurgitate my nostalgia, hopefully for something more substantial. Its easy to see where everything went wrong for a lot of people, this time was their apex. I'm sure a lot of you still cling onto the same customs as you did when you were 16 which is sad. Grow up. Accept that people are different and weird, embrace them.
I used to hate a lot of you but I've grown disenchanted with that feeling, now I don't really care what most of you are up to. But like it or not we shared some important moments and I still feel the sensation of our friendship. Lets not forget that and if anyone ever sees this know I'm a happier person for realizing 90 percent of the Veterats were fake and idiotic. Shout out to everyone that kept it real with me: Derec, Gage, Bryan, Tim, David R., Dominic, Izzy, Furnace crew, Mike D, K Chaps, Anuk and John. Everyone else unless you know we tight, suck a dick!!!
-Jacob "Danny" Alarcon
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