It’s Been Quite A Year
When I started my gap year this year (I am 19 years old), I was devastated because of my half assed senior year and lack of a freshman year, confused as to what I was going to do, and most of all, worried that I was going to fall behind in my “career path.” At the time, a year seemed like a long time, a lot to give up for a “minor inconvenience” like a pandemic. In retrospect, it was the best decision I have ever made for myself, and I hope that more kids my age (who are able to) consider a gap year for themselves as well.
I took the year to explore my greatest passion, photography. I turned my high school side hustle into an official business. When I first opened up shop, I was initially expecting a couple senior portraits here and there, but I really took off. I spent the year documenting the most important moments in peoples’ lives. I learned a gazillion things that high school failed to teach us (I can do trigonometry easy peasy but filing taxes is the hardest thing in the world), met the most incredible people and heard the most insightful stories, and most importantly, I learned a lot about myself, I’ve spent the past fifteen years in a classroom, and for the first time in my life, I have been blessed with the opportunity to live life free from expectations and control. At the helm of each day, I fed myself creativity and fueled myself with ambition to improve my photography, to become a better artist and a better person, to never take things for granted.
I wanted to share my story and journey as a photographer. I went from an overworked, sleep deprived teenager to an entirely different person this year, all thanks to my Canon R5 and my OG Canon 5D m3. I could never imagine being able to have what I have, earned what I have earned, and been part of what I have been part of. Yesterday, I had the privilege of being part of a surprise proposal for marine on his first day back from deployment and his first day as a regular civilian. I had so many different emotions, not just because of what was going on in front of me, but also because it is just so incredible that I, a young 19 year old, could be apart of this life altering moment.
