Personal // How it All Started // On Becoming A Photographer

As I sat there aimlessly staring at a half eaten bowl of chips and guac, all I could do was hold back the tears. I was in my twenties with a college degree and I felt completely lost. The plan all along was to go to law school, but somewhere after graduation things got shifted and shuffled. After working at a corporate law firm and then subsequently quitting to move to Europe to “figure myself out,” I came back even more lost and confused. I was frustrated and felt defeated. 

As tears formed in my eyes, my mom looked at me and asked “If you had to do one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?” 

I didn’t want her to be disappointed. Deep inside I knew what I wanted to do but couldn’t come to terms with taking such a sharp turn in my career path. 

I took a deep breathe and replied “I want to be a photographer…” 

My mom took a sip of her margarita, looked at me and smiled “Then do it.” 

And that was the moment my career started. My mom’s encouraging words sparked my new path, over a bowl of chips and margaritas at a Mexican restaurant in Schaumburg, Illinois. 

My original career plan unraveled before my eyes for two years before my mom gave me the “permission" and courage to actually voice out loud what I wanted to do. 

If there is something you are passionate about, go out and do it.

Take a deep breathe, (drink up that margarita ;-)) and follow your wildest dreams! 

Photography has been one amazing, creative, and at times challenging ride. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything! We all start somewhere and it’s never to late to begin.