By Eleni Cooper
“Caro was really scared I would fall in this one,” I say. “Dyamond was working out a plan to save me if the boulder gave out.”
After staring at the photo for a moment, my dad abruptly leaps up from the couch, sprinting across the living room. Maybe he’s mad at me for visiting the Grand Canyon for the first time with friends instead of family? Maybe he’s preparing a lecture about sticking to designated viewing areas and staying behind guard rails?
But then he rushes back to me, gleefully rifling through an album from his youth. Eventually he presents himself, 19 years old like I am now, posing proudly at the canyon’s edge.
I look at the photo book, holding my phone up to it. I’ve always been told I’m the spitting image of my mom but comparing ink to pixels, I’ve never looked more like him. We’re the same. Same smile, same wonder, same need to love and be loved, both daring to go just a little too close to the edge.
There’s nothing I used to fear more than turning into my dad when I grew up. Maybe that’s not the worst thing that could happen.
Eleni Cooper is a sophomore communications design student minoring in information management & technology. Eleni has been a dancer since age five and enjoys exploring new methods of creative expression from drawing to photography to bullet journaling. They design for The Outcrowd (SU’s only LGBTQ+ magazine), and can often be found on the third floor of the warehouse working on projects or attending AIGA events with fellow comm designers.
