a girl with simple talents and her family by her side.

sewing machine.

this may be a simple piece of machinery to some people. but to me it's a way of life.

it's a representation of family, of talents, of learning, and a way to express my creativity.

i began sewing in the third grade, when we would walk to my friend's house every friday afternoon and her mom taught us lessons in their basement.

those lessons lasted until my family moved and i began teaching my own lessons as a summer job.

this transformed into taking classes in high school and eventually becoming my major in college.

but this all started because my mom was there encouraging me.  it was something she did and i wanted to learn because of her.  sewing was also something i was able to do with my cousins and aunts.  we were able to join a quilt club, work on new projects together, and most importantly, just spend time together. 

and as i grow up i hope to teach others to have the same love for sewing that i do.

basketball.

this is kind of a big deal in the walter family. and when i say "kind of" i mean "really".  my love for basketball again started when i was young.  my parents took me to games.  [i even told my mom i wanted to be a jazz dancer once.] and i began playing for the children’s youth leagues. 

my younger brother became a basketball star. in my mind at least. he played competitively throughout his childhood.  going to his games was always a big deal, and i was always required to go support. 

“we support each other” is what mom always said.

basketball became a family thing.  watching my brothers games, march madness bracket competitions, playing lightening in the front yard on summer nights.  talking about the latest stats and players – for high school, college, professional, and even those the community. 

basketball even led to family vacations throughout the state and even to florida.

basketball bonded us as a family.

dinner table.

as a child i loved waiting for my dad to get home from work.  dinner would be all ready, i’d hear the door open and run to hide underneath the table.  he knew where i was every time, but played along as if he had to find me. 

eating dinner was something we always did together.  it was important to be there. and our friends were always invited. 

the dinner table was the place where we would talk about our days, especially on sunday when we discussed what we learned at church.  it was the place where we laughed harder than ever because, well, we’re just funny i guess.  whenever i think of family dinners at home i always think about laughing really hard.

like one time, well first of all you should know i don’t like spaghetti. and that’s exactly what we were eating.  so i created a face on my plate out of the food prepared.  mom wasn’t too happy at first, until my brother joined in. then, she did too. and dad, he actually just ate his.

but we took pictures and put them online for people to vote for a whole week.

it was silly things like this that made dinners my favorite part of the entire day.

why.

why are these so important you ask?  because they make me who i am. 

they show that my family is everything to me.  they’ve taught me the important things in life.  things like developing your talents and being creative.  reminding me that it’s always most important to support one another.  and that being together for dinner is hilarious, and always the best place to share and talk with each other. 

through these simple events in my life i’ve grown to love my family and learned that families really are the most important thing we’ve got.  we better treat them like they are.

i strive to always share love with my family. because that's who we are and that's what we do.

[cultural diorama. ashley walter.]