Nothing is more representative of southern life than a styrofoam tray full of fried chicken and fixings. Growing up in North Carolina, no social gathering is complete without a spread of cornbread, freshly killed chickens fried to a crisp, and a pot full of collards. This is the art of my homeland: to share and taste the love.

I drove by this barn everyday coming to school. It doesn`t hold anything currently (other than beer cans), but I like to think of a time when it held grain to nourish chubby cows or saws and ladders used to build a house for a traditional 4 person family unit to watch tv in between tending to the tobacco crops. This barn stands, just as the southern american dream does.

Rachel Finley