WHAT DO YOU WANT MOST?
This project gives a quick look into the window of people's lives by showing how they think, what they value, and who they are. A photo series that explores humanity as well as individuality on a deep level with the simple five word question,
"What do you want most?"...
"Being someone who gets phone calls at 2am in the morning because they have no else to go to feels good."
"Success, but not necessarily in the world’s view of what success is, but my own personal success. My definition of my own personal success is living life that makes me feel fulfill. Whatever that means for me, I feel like I’m doing it...For me, it’s not abandoning passions of mine for money. i do like making money but not just for the monetary value. I enjoy the work that comes from it... I work in water treatment; I treat water in various HVV systems in New York City. I started in construction and worked my way up the service side. It’s a really personal job. You always have to make good first impressions and relationships that last. Being someone who gets phone calls at 2am in the morning because they have no else to go to feels good."
Subject: Noah Conarino
"I am sort of a flat thinker. I don't believe in kinGs and queens."
"I want my kids to be successful and happy, and I think when I say successful I mean happy. One of the things I do is I always think, 'I don't want to leave this. I'm doing this because I'm leaving it in a better way for my two girls.' One is sixteen and the other one is twelve. My older daughter, after the Parkland shooting, she organized a school walk out. She was just a sophomore. Although there were a lot of us there to support them, there was a lot of name-calling. They were called 'bra-burning feminists'. That was interesting because all they were doing were supporting other students. So, she decided she would create the equal rights club at her high school with two other young girls. They proposed it, had the support of their teachers and principal, but when they went to the Board of Education they denied it. That was quite a rude awakening for her. They were really upset and angry, but their facility and us said this is life and you find a way to make it work. So they petitioned the Board of Education, collected signatures, and in the end they had over 700 signatures supporting the club. They wrote up articles to send over to newspapers. They worked over the summer and in August they had a special board meeting. The girls went up and talked about why this club was so important. After a lot of conversation, the board did approve it. She is now the president of the Equal Rights Club. When I work for social justice, part of it has to do that I don't want my kids going through stuff like people being racist or sexism. It doesn't have to be an "ism". It can be gender discrimination, bias, or inherit racism. A lot of the stuff that i do, i would like to leave a better place for the next generation. That's what I think a lot of people do, but they don't think of why. I've been working at Ramapo College in diversity issues every since I got here, which is nearly ten years now. I am the president of the Minority Staff Association. What I try to do is provide a safe place for people of color and people who consider themselves to be minorities. We don't identify people as minorities, they identify themselves. I provide a safe space for them to talk, raise concerns, and make changes. It's really an effort to build community. All the things we do are because we want Ramapo to be a healthy environment where everyone's potential is met, not just the potential of specific groups of people. I am sort of a flat thinker. I don't believe in kinds and queens. I don't believe in higher archy and I gear my life that way."
Subject: Naseem Choudhury
"I'm becoming more sure of myself and figuring out who I am."
"I want to be independent. I want to have my own life with a very fulfilling writing career. And you know, just have an exciting life doing things I want to do. When I was interviewed in the past I said I want to love and to be loved back. I think my answer changed because I have a much healthier mindset now and I can feel that a lot of people around me love me. In order to get the love, you have to give the love and have a positive outlook on life. I think love is important but having your own sense of self is important as well. Being able to deal with things yourself is a lot more important than always having to rely on the company of others to be happy. See with me, it's been I've had a very dependent personality for most of my life. I'm at a point in my life where I'm figuring out how to live on my own and be independent. Obviously, having a dependent personality sometimes you have a bad self-esteem as well. I didn't know who I was for a long time, so now as I am becoming more independent I'm becoming more sure of myself and figuring out who I am. "
Subject: Jillian Topolski
"my message is to stay original."
"I want to leave a mark on the culture I love. I can do that by keeping working, keep making connections, keep thinking positive, and keeping everything fresh. There's a lot piggybacking going on right now. It's easy to fall into that. I feel as though I have a lot to offer and contribute. The circle of people I am evolved around is also doing those things and I don't feel as I am involved with them by accident. That includes the whole art culture, people who are starting clothing brands, painters, everything. Staying in your own lane is the biggest mistake you can make. I'm actually a recording artist, but I've been a fan of photography for so long that I finally got inspired to pick up the camera and do it. With music, I'm extremely creative; my message is to stay original. Stop falling into what everyone else is doing. You can still contribute in the same way being different. I've been doing music for the past ten years. Music is my first love. It's a youth culture. So, teenagers who have social media, think they know what's going on. They are only contributing to the outer layer of what's going on. They aren't doing research, they aren't trying to break away from what's everyone else is doing. There's a lot of knowledge they don't know and it's hindering them going forward. Their opinions are half based because they don't know as much as you should. So, I'm just trying to break that. Epically my younger siblings. I’m born and raised in Miami. The Palm Beach, Florida culture is great. A lot of good music coming out there, lot of good artists. It's so original and untapped. I moved to New York to get a different environment, I'm just trying to explore. Plus, I'm a big hip-hop fan so I love the culture here. "
Subject: Alex Quintero
