On January 4th 1995, my roots were permanently planted in Vancouver Washington when my parents brought me into this world. Without the vaguest idea of who I would become; they nurtured me with love and encouragement, playing along with all the characters I’ve portrayed over the 17 years of my life. The goals every parent wishes to fulfill have been dominated by mine; as they raised a daughter who is an independent thinker, comprehensive of the complicated and strenuous relationship between choices and consequences.

Reflecting on my life, I can’t imagine it without art. Honestly, I can’t imagine anything without it. As a child, my mom worked a lot and my dad did too. When my mom had the free time, she would create massive makeshift play lands for my sister and I in my living room – where she taught us that the best part about it is inside of our minds. I started modeling myself after her at a very young age, and soon learned that she had a unique talent for being able to draw an image almost exact, to every minute detail, from a photograph. I jumped right in and began making anything I could imagine with my crayons. If you asked me what my favorite thing was in elementary school I would have said; “drawing.” In middle school it would’ve been; “orchestra.” Now that I’m in high school, I would answer to you; “photography.”

As I grew older, I learned that I needed to find something that I really knew I shined at. Without a doubt I never turned away from art and I went through all different mediums. I loved them all, but I never really found one that made me feel as whole as photography. I signed up for digital photography one and two my freshman year and my world shifted as I gained a completely different and bright perspective on life. It’s taught me to look at everything in retrospect, and where I would be without that is probably a monochromatic world where everything about me was washed up and borrowed from someone else. It taught me more than any math class could, and it was REAL.

I don’t know where my future lies with photography, but I know that it’s in my future. I plan on going into psychology, but I will never be able to dive into the world with a blind and ignorant eye avoiding and missing out on the moments around me without capturing and documenting, piece by piece. I know that I want to have a family someday, and I hope to show them the importance of distancing yourself from the world every once in awhile and taking it in.