1. My thoughts originally started with almost a jealousy that she got to travel so much and on her companies dime but my thoughts went back and forth because it almost seemed like she had no stability. The adventures she went on from bouncing back and forth from Mexico to the Middle East were almost too much to fathom. It is hard enough transitioning from a war zone to a culture that is so at ease and has no idea what is going on except for what the media portrays, so when I was reading about how she'd spend this amount of time here and there, I almost felt bad for her because she never had a chance to fully "slow down and regroup."
2. The two biggest things that made an impression on me were how nonchalant she was that the man she had been seeing wanted to be selfish and make her choose him over her career and instead of realizing she did deserve someone who would support her dream/job and not give ultimatums, she stuck it out because she figured she'd never find someone who understood her life, so to her, this was as good as it gets. The second thing was how often she loved being in a war zone than in a country that allowed more freedom. It's almost a familiar feeling because I felt more comfortable in the Middle East, as a woman, than I do in America so I thought it was interesting that she said that because although it is a war zone, you get familiar with things how they are and it becomes "okay", which is not okay.
3. In her photojournalism she captured things that "men" weren't always allowed to capture (women). She also was not afraid to get into the action even if a bomb just went off. I think a few things I could take away from this are that even though it may be "scary" to approach or capture something that most people might deem, inappropriate, take the photo anyways. When she took pictures and thought they were going to get published they told her "it was too much for the American people..." she still kept taking those photos because they needed to be seen. So what could be "too much" for others might be perfect for the news or vise versa. Don't be scared to take the photo.
4. The personal sacrifices that Addario's has made to pursue her profession would definitely be family and love. She talks about how her mother was in the hospital for a few days and her family didn't even tell her because there was nothing she could do from across the world. She missed birthday's and big events just to pursue her career and get the perfect picture. She mentions numerous times that her love life is not normal and if she didn't work in the profession she did, she might have a family by now. She talks about how lots of photojournalist who are away on assignment have affairs because it gets lonely or because the other photojournalist actually understand them more than their spouse- it was normal to do that. I don't think I could make those sacrifices, to an extent. I've been away from family days, months, years at a time and I've missed events and milestones but when it comes to my love life, I need stability and I need a partner who understands what I am doing- so I married someone who shared the same life as me and it works perfectly.
5. My favorite quote so far would have to be: "Friendships form fast in war zones." pg. 92
When I read that line I could not agree more. It's a strange thing, war. You could have nothing in common with someone and on a normal basis probably never hangout with them but when it comes to war, you have to have somewhat of the same mentality and drive to survive which makes the bond an irreplaceable one. I have met some of my best friends in the military and during deployment and the only thing that we first had in common was we're at war and we HAD to depend on them to save us if it ever came to that, we had to trust a stranger to have our backs. This quote is definitely my favorite.
6. My favorite photo is in chapter 7 of the woman kissing her child. The reason this is my favorite photo is because in the midst of chaos the mother still finds the time to show her kids love and compassion. This photo is so powerful to me because in war zones it is so easy to see all the negative and focus on the "why is this happening to us" and to this mother, she decides to shower her kids with love and give them a bit of hope that things are "okay" and their mom will always be there to protect them. I loved this photo.
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