https://www.annaconnors.com/contact daily 0.75 2026-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/147ef297-62f7-4667-91c2-33dc68272400/anna+fishing+pic.jpg About https://www.annaconnors.com/here-i-dreamed daily 0.75 2026-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/472f9d77-083c-4524-8e9e-ad5eb4ca6011/Connors_abandoned-schools-1.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) Inside Escuela Intermedia Marcelino Canino Canino in Dorado, which closed in 2018, the sign “Bienvenidos”, or “Welcome”, is still displayed in a former technology classroom. Stepping into an abandoned school can feel like entering another time. Desks rot in permanent rows. Ants creep along the spines of old textbooks. White chalk, scrawled on blackboards and never erased, marks the last day of school. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/79d544cd-6bef-4f0f-8b8b-30eb43c21b4f/Connors_abandoned-schools-2.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) At Escuela Jose de Diego in Vega Baja, mold proliferates on the surfaces of desks and chairs. Amid haunting silence, life still abounds. Trees stretch their limbs through old windows while flowers blossom in the crevices of crumbling school walls. Crabs make their homes in bathroom sinks and iguanas rest on cold cement floors. Nature has begun to reclaim the classrooms in the years since the school’s closure in 2016. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/e88b1fbe-eca0-4e79-8f01-a087e4339908/Connors_abandoned-schools-3.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) A biography of Antonio Rafael Barceló, a prominent 20th century politician and lawyer, lies abandoned on a desk at Escuela Jose de Diego in Vega Baja. Barceló’s life motto, “Puerto Rico por encima de todo” (“Puerto Rico above all else”) is reflected in his work to establish educational spaces like The School of Tropical Medicine. The school was later incorporated as part of The University of Puerto Rico, the island’s oldest University. The education crisis extends beyond primary and secondary schools; UPR has lost nearly half its budget since 2017. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/f08ed10b-7703-4c23-889d-11614a8c8385/Connors_abandoned-schools-4.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) Tree branches wrap around former school buildings at Escuela Intermedia Marcelino Canino Canino in Dorado. The majority of closures (65%) occurred in rural areas, where distance between schools is greater and disruptions in children’s transportation to and from class placed greater burdens on caregivers to navigate changes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/ad72d09e-ea83-4d15-a87a-a2928fd68478/Connors_abandoned-schools-5.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) The body of a horse is preserved in a bed of feces like an archeological relic at Escuela Elemental Alfonso Lopez Garcia in Dorado. In the time since their initial closure, some schools have been revived for other purposes like stables, only to further decay. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/3a4c68a2-00ff-4c97-b0aa-82fe65d373ca/Connors_abandoned-schools-6.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) A gate is left open at Escuela Rosa M. Rodriguez in Vega Baja, where neighbors upkeep the school yard and utilize the space for community classes. In the absence of government action, some neighborhoods have taken it upon themselves to maintain the school grounds. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/4de3f620-4c4f-4237-a17b-f997711bef61/Connors_abandoned-schools-7.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) A billboard in a hallway at Escuela Elemental Alfonso Lopez Garcia in Dorado reads, “Good Work”. Julia Keleher, Philadelphia native appointed Puerto Rico Secretary of Education in 2016, was the architect behind many of the school closures. In 2019, she resigned from her role. “I regret the pain that [closures] caused communities,” Keleher said at a press conference in 2019 following her announcement that she would be stepping down. “But somebody had to be the responsible adult in the room.” Keleher was arrested and imprisoned in 2021 on account of conspiracy to commit fraud during her time as secretary. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/f216285b-e4e8-41df-ba8b-649780854918/Connors_abandoned-schools-8.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) An empty court at Escuela Marcelino Canino Canino in Dorado was once filled with children bouncing basketballs and batting ping pong balls back and forth in friendly competition. Now, the space is quiet. School spaces represent more than learning how to multiply numbers and write essays: they are places of cohesion and connection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/a303a17d-188b-4401-a023-bcdda672ea98/Connors_abandoned-schools-9.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) “You all are excellent, we love you and wish you success in your new school,” reads a message in a hallway at Escuela Elemental Alfonso Lopez Garcia in Dorado. Teachers left notes for their former pupils on whiteboards, in hallways and online in Facebook pages. School closures fractured bonds between teachers and students. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/0703e44c-14e2-4a4a-afa7-3d6ffa073f86/Connors_abandoned-schools-10.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) Horses roam free through classrooms of the old Escuela Intermedia Marcelino Canino Canino in Dorado. To this day, some schools continue to be repurposed by community members for uses such as stables. New life is still being cultivated, even amidst the decay. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/0d52b088-f930-480b-bab2-f823a8f0247b/Connors_abandoned-schools-11.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) The remains of a rabbit’s legs spoil beneath a pile of textbooks at Escuela Jose de Diego in Vega Baja. Where students once read children’s books about animals, textbooks now serve as the final resting place of the island's living creatures. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/ac578f4c-29f7-451c-84b5-59f711db80a3/Connors_abandoned-schools-12.jpg "Here I Dreamed" (2023) “Here, I dreamed,” reads graffiti scrawled on the wall of a roofless classroom at Escuela Jose de Diego in Vega Baja — a reminder of what could have been. In spaces where children once imagined their futures and teachers built homes of learning, old visions are now laid to rest. Just as Puerto Rico is changing, so too are these empty buildings, the deaths of their past lives as schools creating space for new beginnings. https://www.annaconnors.com/carolina-cowboy daily 0.75 2025-12-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/13bac202-e350-4dcb-91e5-e7c92036cf8f/08112023-RODEO-AEC-01.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) A cowboy swings his lasso as he tries to rope a calf during the team roping portion of the Silk Hope Pro Rodeo in Silk Hope, N.C. on June 24, 2023. In the team roping event, one competitor — the “heeler” — tries to rope the calf’s back legs, while the other — the “header” — attempts to rope the calf’s head. The event is timed, with the fastest pair to rope both ends of the calf taking home the money. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/9649718d-914f-4704-9cb9-416eae1f46dd/08112023-RODEO-AEC-02.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) Austyn Blane Creech shows her boyfriend, Ben Downing, her outfit before her performance at "The Day of the Cowboy" Rodeo in Lumber Bridge, N.C. on July 22, 2023. Creech is a member of The Greatest Show Gals, a synchronized horseback riding team that performs routines on horseback set to music. Rodeo attire is an important part of the tradition, with cowboy hats, button down shirts, jeans and cowboy boots a requirement for competition. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/aea11e97-d8e8-45b2-a365-a4e5120d7622/08112023-RODEO-AEC-04.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) Horses yawn and swish the flies away as they stand in the mud ahead of the Silk Hope Pro Rodeo in Silk Hope, N.C. on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Livestock for rodeos are treated as athletes, with bucking horses and bulls trained to buck as hard as they can until the rider is off their back. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/1bc3029c-a898-47c1-8f5a-dbb902878524/20221008_connors_efland-rodeo-495.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/934731ca-d88e-41c3-89d9-0b7cc3ea6f73/08112023-RODEO-AEC-00009.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/84406bae-a51a-42fd-b389-6c9392702553/08112023-RODEO-AEC-00026.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/b96c1698-1024-4bad-9716-fb5c1602cfe8/08112023-RODEO-AEC-00020+copy.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/868008bf-2274-426d-a7d7-c393ba71a7a9/08112023-RODEO-AEC-00018.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/e937decc-d600-41b6-9d85-7524c8a525f1/Connors_Anna_Portrait_01.JPG Carolina Cowboy (2023) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/ba3e797a-bd7e-41f6-8fe2-9fc78e61111a/08112023-RODEO-AEC-07.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) Sadie Canup, 7, yawns after competing in the barrel racing event of the Silk Hope Pro Rodeo in Silk Hope, N.C. on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Canup is often the youngest competitor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/e617fd0d-a30d-4f17-b1c5-d8f11aac9797/060623_RODEO-AC-12.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/4a0358cf-03c2-4e97-ad9d-a7e82ed1bc3b/08112023-RODEO-AEC-08.jpg Carolina Cowboy (2023) A kid plays in a puddle after the conclusion of the Silk Hope Pro Rodeo in Silk Hope, N.C. on Saturday, June 24, 2023. https://www.annaconnors.com/caregiving-project daily 0.75 2025-08-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/b4c6ff91-2d92-4e8a-9f5a-3275f334cbeb/CindyBethAC-00033.jpg Cindy & Beth: A mother's love; a daughter's journey (Ongoing) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/c0e169ce-0935-48e6-8540-c7591ce179c6/CindyBethAC-00038.jpg Cindy & Beth: A mother's love; a daughter's journey (Ongoing) 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Herd: Defending Yellowstone's Buffalo (2024) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/ae4aaaf6-702f-4f12-a2ab-6af962a62e7d/The+Last+Wild+Herd+Post_6-27-4.jpg The Last Wild Herd: Defending Yellowstone's Buffalo (2024) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/49c68f87-0a90-42af-a6cd-f5420397c2ef/Rough+Cut+-+20240626.00_12_27_19.Still002.jpg The Last Wild Herd: Defending Yellowstone's Buffalo (2024) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/0106ea27-85da-41f5-815d-bc3a72578e5f/20240601+-+JAMES+HOLT+INTERVIEW.00_28_57_00.Still001.jpg The Last Wild Herd: Defending Yellowstone's Buffalo (2024) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/fb3baca4-9341-41ff-bbf7-2db5e4e21bf9/The+Last+Wild+Herd+Post_6-27-7.jpg The Last Wild Herd: Defending Yellowstone's Buffalo (2024) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/bd711788-bca8-4737-b65f-01142bfc6d09/The+Last+Wild+Herd+Post_6-27-8.jpg The Last Wild Herd: Defending Yellowstone's Buffalo (2024) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/a0787e57-47bb-4f28-bea8-4b36c40409e4/Rough+Cut+-+20240626.00_12_25_23.Still003.jpg The Last Wild Herd: Defending Yellowstone's Buffalo (2024) https://www.annaconnors.com/hooked daily 0.75 2025-12-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/9783d8d8-9bfe-4d86-9423-4202f2da5fe2/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_01.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss gazes out at the sunrise as he leaves the dock on the morning of Wednesday, June 5, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/496ea02a-66ee-470e-9e81-9150040af644/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_02.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss loads his fish to sell to a fish market at Fisherman’s Wharf on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Wholesalers tell him ahead of time how much fish they want, meaning he must stay out on the water until he catches enough to satisfy their needed quantities. He says the uncertainty of the job is simultaneously frustrating and the exact reason why he loves it. "Other people go work a job and get paid," he said. "Every time I leave the dock, I don't know what's gonna happen. But that's part of the fun." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/020b32b0-2f37-44ec-8501-d22d74e8bbd7/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_03.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss picks up bait from Matt, whom he calls “The Butler”, at Fisherman’s Wharf on Monday, June 3, 2024. The 10-second meeting is one of his only in-person social interactions all day. Despite the solitude, Korss says he rarely feels lonely out on the water. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/9c3541a1-7cfe-4751-b965-243bbcc2b736/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_04.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss baits a hook with a live anchovy on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Korss grew up fishing with his family, but doubts he would be out on the water daily if it weren’t for the COVID-19 pandemic. While the rest of the world isolated at home, Korss took to the water, attending his high school on Zoom from his boat while he fished. “Everyone couldn’t go to work, but I could still fish and feed people,” Korss said. By the time he graduated high school, his business had grown, so Korss decided rather than go to school, he wanted to stay out on the water. Korss is one of an increasing number of Gen Z youth choosing to forego a college education in pursuit of other careers; a study by The Campaign for College Opportunity found enrollment in California higher education institutions has decreased 6.5% since the start of the pandemic. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/1fbc5f7b-e35f-41db-8496-2ae53e0fa038/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_05.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss hauls in a 12 pound halibut on Monday, June 3, 2024. To bring the fish on deck, he spears them with a hook behind their eyes. Korss says he once caught as many as 53 fish in one day, but averages between 10 and 20. Korss says fishing is what helped him build his confidence; as a shy kid with ADHD, he says he felt pride when he began to catch more fish than the older guys out on the water. Despite insisting he's “not trying to catch every fish in the pond”, locals have affectionately renamed Belvedere Cove, a local fishing spot, "Marsh's Hole" due to the number of fish he manages to catch there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/9d4f958e-2861-4fef-a660-fc87215a69f1/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_06.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss cleans the bow of his boat on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. During the fishing season, which runs from April to October, he rarely takes a day off; last year he worked more than 70 days straight. To save money, Korss also does almost all of the upkeep of the boat himself, sometimes staying down at the dock until midnight to make necessary repairs in between days of fishing. Korss says if there's any quality you need to be a fisherman, "it's determination". https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/badbbdf4-1139-493f-ab74-b7c67b24ea04/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_07.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss’ catch of seven halibut lies on the bow of his boat, waiting to be placed in a cooler, on Monday, June 3, 2024. "It's dirty," says Korss of his job. "Kinda sloppy." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/174a6963-1048-4919-bdfb-3b2a3f761f1d/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_08.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss loads a cooler of fish into his truck on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, ready to be sold to a local restaurant. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/91ed7603-eddd-41df-9087-6e8874069336/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_09.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss eats a plate of the halibut he caught and sold to a restaurant in Sausalito on June 3, 2024. The occasion marked the first time he tried a plate of his own fish prepared by a chef. Korss rarely has enough time to eat more than a snack while out fishing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/a69e1212-048b-48c0-9bd9-809fbb1a6f1b/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_10.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss walks to his car to head home from Clipper Yacht Harbor on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/2dbc6e53-d168-4f70-95c6-cd5058500529/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_11.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss brushes his teeth at 5 a.m. on June 5, 2024 with his eyes still closed. Korss spends less than five minutes getting ready before leaving in the morning. He sets 20 alarms to ensure he doesn’t oversleep. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/830f1e19-bbe2-4b5f-a0af-47f41e9eea5f/F-YOUNG-FISHERMAN_12.JPG Hooked (2024) Korss pilots his boat back out into San Francisco Bay from Sausalito for another day of fishing on June 3, 2024. https://www.annaconnors.com/living-the-life-he-almost-lost daily 0.75 2025-12-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/8a0d3c3e-2ec8-458f-a94e-bf36db43924c/DSC02148.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman shovels dirt to make a hole for the cement foundation of a tombstone at Elmwood Cemetery on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Blytheville, Ar. Holliman has worked at Whitener Monument in Kennett, Mo. for nearly three years now, after he stumbled upon a sign in the front yard of the company that said they were looking for work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/11c94da7-d1f0-49e2-956b-13e068a89c91/DSC02070.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman loads a truck with a pair of tombstones ready to be set in the cemetery on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Kennett, Mo. The granite used to make the stones weighs around 220 lbs per square foot, requiring a crane to move them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/0248dedd-cd4d-40c8-a447-086101d36b9f/DSC02037.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman and his fiancé, Karissa Killian, lean against his truck to watch the annual Delta Fair Parade while Killian’s son, Pierson, 8, watches in the foreground on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Kennett, Mo. Holliman and Killian were friends for several years before they got engaged. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/9fe89d13-e0bc-4096-ba10-015baadee12d/DSC02284.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman drives his fiancé’s son, Pierson, 8, to school on the morning of Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Kennett, Mo. Holliman’s two biological children, who are now in their early 20’s, were young when he went to prison. Now, he tries to be there for Pierson and his sister Aubree, 6. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/ee3d3bea-44ca-4c64-b625-6fd8fc5d745b/DSC02072.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman prepares to install a tombstone at Quilin Cemetery with his colleague, George “Bump” Odom on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Quilin, Mo. In order to prevent the stone from becoming crooked or sinking, they dig a shallow rectangular hole and pour a cement base, finally setting the stone in place. The job requires precision and care. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/ecee891e-4b97-44bb-b6d1-33e7ed245c21/DSC02136.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman talks to his boss, Glen Whitener, and George “Bump” Odom about where to place a tombstone at Elmwood Cemetery on Sept. 26, 2024 in Blytheville, Ark. Holliman said the best part of his job is working for “Mr. Glen”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/fa779c09-56f4-412b-bf74-06cb0260023d/DSC02094.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman drives a crane on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Kennett, Mo. “Nobody comes to the cemetery to have a good time,” Holliman said. Nonetheless, he sees his job as important — it ensures those who’ve passed can find their peace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/add81b0f-789f-447d-a1e5-3f1b226a628a/DSC02254.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman gets gas on his way to school while his fiancé’s daughter, Aubree, 6, watches on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Kennett, Mo. “She has my heart,” Holliman said. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/c973f93d-566e-443f-a650-800a98267722/DSC02189.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman and Karissa Killian laugh on the couch after putting Killian’s children Aubree, 6, and Pierson, 8, to bed on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Kennett, Mo. The two will be married in April of next year. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6214f64e57b3bd266945c47d/8a3be24c-0b7c-4cb4-a847-e828c343c1ed/DSC02278.jpg Living the Life He Almost Lost (2024) Will Holliman heads out of the house with his fiancé’s children Aubree, 6, and Pierson, 8, to take them to school before heading to work on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Kennett, Mo. 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