As a permanent resident in a huge corporate office, I am continually immersed in this peculiar counter-world of office culture. For anyone who has worked in the same environment, I’m sure you know what I mean. Women and men who have not bought a new suit since 1985, and wear that matching purple skirt and blazer as though it is straight off the runway. I hear constant bland conversations about so-and-so’s kids/grandkids/ailing mother-in-law/15th new kitten. I listen to daily anecdotes about how she lost 2 lbs this week by cutting white flour out of her diet, how he can’t play in the firm softball game this weekend because of his bum knee, and everybody asking me with a chuckle in passing, “Is it Friday yet?” as though this is a new question. I try to drown out this mundane ear cancer by listening to some music. Aahh, finally an artistic outlet. But don’t get it twisted...I must work only to the soothing sounds of Enya and other soft-rock, lest one of the geriatrics near me get offended by the Jay-Z that they can barely hear coming out of my speakers.

In an office of more than 200 people, I know I am not the only one here who realizes that this is their life every day. We are here, butts cemented to our rolly chairs, upwards of 9 hours a day. For some, this is their home away from home. Many have practically moved in here. They have extra shoes, full drawers of food as though a natural disaster may hit soon, TVs, radios, vanity mirrors, stuffed animals. The attorney across from me even has a keg-er-ator in his office. I am 23 and I have nothing in common with these office lifers.

I have, however, found one exception – photos. I decided (in the name of research and sheer boredom) to walk around all 6 floors of my office today, and I noticed that every single person has photos in their workspace, including myself. I went further to ask some of them about their photos. The response was incredible. People that I have never spoken 2 words to brightened up so much upon my inquiry that I was taken aback. They erupted into jubilant stories about their wedding day, their grandchildren at the park, their friend’s bachelor party, their large variety of pets, and so on. I was truly overwhelmed in the fact that I had nothing in common with these people 5 minutes ago, and because of a picture, they felt free to share these special moments of their lives with me. They didn’t care who I was or what I thought – these photos were bragging rights to their own spectacular worlds that no one can touch.

The more prominent aspect I found was that these photos plastered on the walls are their “happy place”. When each of us here have a rough day, get yelled at by the boss, or simply can’t believe it’s only $#%! Wednesday, we have these photos all around that bring us back to earth. Photos of our lives where our excitement cannot be contained when we tell perfect strangers about them. We turn to these photos and remember where we are going, what got us here, and what the heck we are working so hard for.

So here’s to all the photographers out there. Capture all the happy places you can, and hang ‘em up proudly. Share your world with everyone around you, and take time to bridge the gap of age, gender, and culture and learn about theirs. You might find that, for those few moments, you just became someone else’s happy place.