It's pretty crazy what 16 years can do to an area. I first left Bradenton when I was 18 and I only admired one part of it in my youth. It was this pier. Granted since I've left this pier has been torn down and re-built after a hurricane. The shops within are different but the people who frequent it are the same. It's optimistic faces I see, one's that are witnessing the beauty of life through meeting others and seeing new places. To get those moments of gratification for going through the struggles of our daily lives. As the pier sits over the ocean, it offers people a new perspective around them literally and figuratively. As they can see the ocean on three sides of them, and everything it brings. I feel it also brings a brighter perspective on the life they live.
When you have peaceful strangers all around in a scenic place like this, you know that despite whatever differences anyone around you has, that they are all still here to experience the same thing as you. The presence of others provides comfort by providing unity through the shared experience. It's re-assurance to the way we live our lives.
So while I came to this area just to get a good shot, I came back with much more. I now find it funny that the picture I took that had the least people in it looked the best. The reality is the other people there make it so much better.