For you from me, free: Many of you reading this article probably have no idea who I am. I’m a senior art major who’s just as tired and stressed as the rest of you. I wanted to write a note about what I’ve learned during my time here and what I can maybe pass along before I graduate in a few weeks.

Anticipating the “Shadow and Substance” Contemporary Photography show, I expected a dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that challenge traditional boundaries and defy easy definition. I was expecting to understand what I was seeing, to enter in, and to connect deeply with what was before me. I’m happy to say, however, that my expectations were wrong.