Inspiring others to create positive change
By Amy Barger
Main Street Greenville Intern 

Being a part of Main Street Greenville has personally brought a lot of awareness on who exactly "Amy Barger" is and what she will do next.  Everything I do I do to work for something bigger than myself.  I am not quite sure if I can define it in its entirety because I believe it will become more defined as I keep growing as a person. 

I think it can be understood best by understanding me.  All I know is that I care about this world.  I care about life.  I care about people.  I love the little things; when I smile at a complete stranger and they smile back, I feel so incredibly warm inside and my day is made.  I try to pay attention to all the details in life because there is always something to take away.   

When I see people in tunnel vision on the streets focused on their next destination, I feel sadness and frustration because I notice they not once, not for a second, took a glance at the beautiful sunset.  Impatient drivers on the street shouting profanities at another driver, releasing their angers from a stressful day on a complete stranger. 

I notice this numbness and insensitivity in daily life; my goal in life (as I know it) is to make people more aware.  If I had told that person to look up at the sky, would his day have been changed in an uplifting way?  If I had told that person cursing at that stranger from his car how his negativity was heard and felt by other people, and affects them, would he be more mindful and choose to react differently? 

This is why photography is the right path for me in life; it will be the ultimate tool for me to bring people to another level of awareness - another mentality - to inspire positive change within themselves and hopefully a desire to take action for things that should change for the better.  I want to inspire others to create positive change - no matter how big or little the change can do for someone or something.  If this could be a trend, a majority of people's mentalities, our world can change.  It can change the way we see ourselves and how I believe life is meant to be.   I believe it is more possible than some think it to be.  Our imaginations and dreams are limitless, the only limit is ourselves.  There's so much power in the things we do and the way we allow ourselves to think.  If I could do that for a small group of people, my life would be fulfilled because I know that will spread to others. 

I have started that life goal with the internship I had with Main Street Greenville. Being able to say I helped contribute to something so positive for the Greenville community is empowering.  Main Street Greenville is all about changing trends within the community for the better.  The gallery that we interns put together, "This is Main Street" was a big awakening in me.  Being able to see my colleagues’ and my art spark inspiration and such positive vibes within our community truly felt amazing.  It confirmed my belief that art really can inspire something positive in people; it confirmed that MY art could do that. 

My focus at the gallery was the photographs that I did for the businesses that support Main Street Greenville.  The photographs brought positive awareness for their store that have hopefully inspired people to make business with them, which essentially would help our community to grow a little more.  Something that I did that seems so little can do something so big.  The internship only confirmed that I know what I want to do with my photography career. 

Since I have been back in Chicago, I have enjoyed riding my bike along the bike path going to work and back - I bike about 14 miles a day, 4 days a week.  I am called crazy, but I feel very energized and healthy by doing so.  It also makes me feel good to know that I'm saving money on transportation and not contributing toxic fumes into the air.  I work at my school's library as the Interlibrary Loan Assistant at Columbia College Chicago.   

I am currently in the works of having some of my work being featured in a gallery here in Chicago.  The gallery is being put together by an organization called Photographers for Social Change, with which I have recently become acquainted.  I plan to have my projects "Twenty-Something Parents" and a currently Untitled project that deals with sexual exploitation of women in the media. 

Another goal of mine is in Spring 2014, I want to participate in a Study Abroad program that my school offers.  My dream is to study in South Africa because I have taken a few South African courses in school and have learned so much about their history and the political issues that they are having that makes U.S. issues seem trivial.  I have big dreams and ideas about projects that I could do there. 

I hope to share some of those experiences with you as I move forward in my career and my dreams. 

See the article on “This is Main Street Greenville” here