It’s a debate that’s been ongoing for years – the value of social media. Many embrace the medium, others abhor the idea. But most are unconcerned, just passively contributing to the ambient noise of chatter online. As with any tool, it’s function is truly dependent on the how one choose to use it.
How can individuals from around the globe get introduced, build relationships, and have disparate affect in their respective locations? It’s amazing how one can connect via twitter. Here’s a story of a photograph that took almost two years to unfold.
As winter began to creep into November of 2009, a good friend had a chance encounter. An encounter that I found to be engaging and inspiring. He had accidentally stumbled upon a motivated young man riding a bicycle from the northern-most point of Pan America to the southern-most point. Adam Biel had embarked on this two year long journey for one purpose – to promote awareness for autism with a goal of raising $1 million for autism research. He is riding from Alaska to Argentina.
Yes, you read that correctly! I was captivated by the audacity of such ambition.
Naturally I began following Adam’s two-wheeled journey. As he descended down the eastern seaboard into New York City, I couldn’t resist. I contacted him via twitter asking if we could connect once he arrived in New York, to which he replied affirmatively. It was a great day. We met up for an early lunch. We talked. I listened. I listened a lot! Adam’s personal story is just amazing. That is saved for another day.
After getting to know a lot of Adam’s history, he was gracious enough to humor me with a portrait session on the roof of the Salt Space. We spent a few more hours hanging out and taking photos. My wonderful wife joined during the portrait session and the three of us continued chatting for hours. The experience was a hazy blur on an overcast and cold Manhattan day. We all went back to our apartment uptown and cooked Adam dinner. And he ate until we ran out of food.
As the night was drawing to a close, Adam gathered his things to continue on his journey after getting a good nights rest. Moments after our door closed, my thoughtful wife said that we should give him some cash. So I ran out to the sidewalk and yelled down the block for Adam to come back. We gave him all the cash we had between us, just a measly $27. Adam graciously thanked us, and went on his way down the dimly lit, sleepy street.
I knew I’d likely never see Adam again. But nevertheless, we were affected by his sacrifice. Here’s a young man that has just graduated from university. He had given up the career pursuits of his peers. He had chosen to forego additional education. He decided to give back. To help those who he felt need to be helped. And he decided to do that by riding a bicycle until he had reached almost half our world, all under the power of his own two legs.
Fast forward about 14 months or so.
A woman from the Netherlands begins following me on twitter. Then reaches out to me expressing interest in one of my photos. She provided a link. I clicked and landed one of my old blog posts about my portrait session with Adam. Jolante and I began emailing back and forth. The marketing agency she worked for was interested in purchasing my photograph of Adam for an advertising campaign in the Netherlands. After a little back and forth, including some with Adam as I needed a model release, we struck a deal.
I asked that if Jolante’s company made a donation to Adam’s cause then I would be willing to release the photograph to them free of charge. After explaining Adam’s story to Jolante, she wrote back to me and said that her English was not good enough to express how much the entire arrangement touched her. Her company happily made the donation!
When we are intentional with our lives, we have an affect. Whether small or large, we all have the ability to have an affect on the world around us. It has been an encouragement to watch this story unfold, especially in the last week. It’s been a privilege. And the story has yet to end.
Once Adam reaches that southern-most point of Pan America, his journey is not complete. He will race back to Alaska in an attempt to break the world record! Stay tuned, as this story has just begun.
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missing you.
~L