Dehang Zheng
I was born in China on April 5th 1989. My hometown is on the coast of the
Pacific Ocean.
The climate there was warm and bright year round.
Occasionally, the sky will darken during hurricane seasons. As a child, I was
extremely shy. By the age of six, my family and I moved to New York City.
There, I started school and finished elementary. New York City is full of
interactions, but as a shy child, I was isolated in my small apartment. My
atmosphere was more of a gloomy environment. To begin middle school, my
family and I moved to Rochester, Minnesota.
I experienced a sudden and dramatic change in the environment. The streets,
no longer filled with pedestrians and there were open fields everywhere.
Through my memory, my first impression of Rochester was bothered by the
silence and darkness of each night compared to New York City. The feeling
created a depressing environment. I didn’t overcome this disturbance until
weeks after. In New York City, snow was brown and mushy due to high traffic.
In Rochester, I found the snow to be soft and fluffy pile high. The winter
season helped me adjust to the environment in Rochester. I was delighted to
see pure snow. What I once thought of Minnesota, being dull and silent, has
changed. Now my eyes have fine-tuned itself, to see the interactions in
nature. New York City certainly lacks in that element. To move back to New
York City would be very difficult. Last summer when I vacationed by Lake
Superior, I found myself soaking in nature like never before. I was there for
a week without much sleep or food but I was able to feed off the energy
provided by nature. I can’t wait to go back! The works in SAD are related to
my experience throughout my life. Nature, atmosphere, seasons, light and
environment have all played an important role in my life.