Excerpt from The Great Face Race: Jonathan and Paige
Jonathan, aka “Hot Rod Huey”, says he works for “The Man” right now. He says his character defines him. The things he enjoys most are his daughter and painting or creating. His dream is to be a great person and father to his daughter because, he says, his dad wasn’t.
Excerpt from The Great Face Race: Tanya and Ethan
Tanya is defined by her fiesty temper, and considers it her role to be true to herself. She feels the most important thing she’s learned is from her mother: to give your kids guidelines and let them have some freedom. She wants for her children to be their own person, to be confident and independent.
In the past, 12 year old Ethan has played flag football. Now he is in choir and practices karate. His biggest accomplishment is becoming a blackbelt. He feels his stunning personality and his temper define him. The most important thing he’s learned is honesty. He plans to attend college in the future, and would really like to skip high school.
Excerpt from The Great Face Race: Nam
18 year old Nam teaches kids cooking through a lunch program called “Bistro Kids” at his school, and has won a cooking contest. He is defined as a chef and an athlete. The most important things he’s learned are to be a successful student, and to have a good work ethic. Besides karate, he most enjoys cooking and playing golf. A challenge he faces is going to college. What scares him most in this world is hunger and war. HIs hope for the future is to become a head chef.
Excerpt from The Great Face Race: John
John is 61 and has been an engineer on the space shuttle and has translated ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics in the past. Now, he does construction, is a Jazzy Bassist and is Executive Director of the Institute for Spiritual Archaeology. The most important thing he has learned is to shut off the “Chatter in the Skull”. Someday he would like to have sailboat in the Caribbean.
Excerpt The Great Face Race: Phoebe and Cotton
31 year old Phoebe is a caregiver. She has had lots of fun and learned from so many of the people who have come in and out of her life. She is defined by her family and their happiness. The most important thing she’s learned is to learn from her mistakes and not regret them. The thing she enjoys most is quiet time when there is truly nothing she is supposed to be doing. She considers it a challenge to keep up with the ever-increasing pace of life. Her biggest accomplishment is helping families to have their babies and feels it’s an awesome event to be chosen to share with someone. For her children she wants peace, happiness and to be really confident in themselves. In the future she hopes her days won’t be so influenced by money. Her dream is to have a garden that actually grows and doesn’t become the neighborhood litter box.
Cotton is 7. He says the thing he enjoys most is riding his bike. His biggest accomplishment is learning to read. And the thing that scares him most in this world is bullies.
Excerpt The Great Face Race: Alfred
35 year old Alfred works at a plastic company and considers his role to be a father. He claims to have been a very bad person in the past, and has learned the most important thing is respect. He says that a challenge he faces is the streets, and he is making a difference in people’s lives by speaking to people on the streets. His biggest accomplishment is owning his house. HIs hope for the future is a good life for himself and his children, and his dream is to be married to a beautiful woman.
Excerpt The Great Face Race: Cynthia
57 year old Cynthia considers her role to be a support person. She is currently a full-time grandma, who enjoys the company of one or more grandkids on an almost daily basis. She is also a home maker. In the past, she has been an attorney/mediator. The most important thing she’s learned is to admit mistakes and ask forgiveness for them. She enjoys being with her family and designing solutions for day-to-day organizational problems. The challenges she faces are being patient and staying motivated. She makes a difference in the lives of others by “being there” if asked for help. What she wants for her children and grandchildren is freedom from anything that holds them back and the will to follow through to get what they want and need.
Excerpt from The Great Face Race: Yalcin
Sage, Ariel and Yalcin
39 year old Yalcin considers his role to bring light and laughter. He is defined by his actions and his breath. The most important thing he’s learned is to live and laugh. His biggest accomplishment is waking with a clear mind. He makes a difference in the lives of others with honesty–it’s a harsh reality at times, but must be.
10 year old Sage enjoys karate and skateboarding. His biggest accomplishment has been to save a baby from drowning.
13 year old Ariel most enjoys her friends, her family and her life. She considers her challenge right now to be lots of school and homework. But her biggest accomplishment is to doing well in school. Her hope for the future is to attend college.
Yalcin
Ariel
Sage
Excerpt from The Great Face Race: Phil
76 year old Phil considers his role to be a kind and caring person. A college professor, he has raised or is raising 7 children including a 10 year old boy adopted from Romania. He is defined by his sense of humor and his outspokenness. In fact, one of the challenges he faces is to be outspoken without coming across as mean. For his children, he wants them to have a free life, with few constraints from society. He wants them to be able to live in peace, to enjoy the creativity in life, and to contribute to making society more open and honest. The most important things he’s learned in life are that change and anger are unpredictable, living is fun, and every day brings challenges.
10 year old Alexandro was born in Romania and adopted when he was 13 months old. He is homeschooled and enjoys learning karate. The thing he enjoys most is playing with his friends.
AKKA-Karate
In mid-November 2010, The Great Face Race traveled to AKKA Karate school in Westport for two nights. I was fortunate to meet and photograph some amazing people — a broad cross section of ages, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds.
Click the image below to view their faces, and follow along over the next few weeks as I post the stories that go with these beautiful faces.
