The Afghan Girl

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/100best/storyA_story.html

I searched National Geographic website for this picture because I saw this picture in a magazine a while ago and I was really drawn to it. Something about the girl's piercing green eyes really seemed to illustrate the common saying that eyes are the windows to a person's soul. Her eyes, which are bright, almost unnaturally green, are not only beautiful, but seem to tell some sort of a story. Along with the pair of emerald eyes, her facial expression, grimy face and vividly colored yet tattered rust-orange garment suggest some sort of a struggle. Although she is clearly a young girl, she looks too tired and aged because this photograph tells us that she has suffered through so much already in her life. It turns out that she is an Afghan refugee. There is no caption needed; the picture alone is more than enough to tell us her story. There is nothing fancy or extraordinary about the picture (after all, it's just a shot of a young girl's face), but there is something so beautiful and haunting about her that it makes me feel drawn in.