Stepping a few years back, from what I remember I always had a particular love for taking pictures of everything. By everything I truly mean it…. Everything. It got to the point where everywhere I went I brought my ipad. It's not really all fun carrying an ipad everywhere you go, but I was destined to take some pictures. I would say I sucked pretty bad, considering I was an 8 year old with not much experience whatsoever with picture taking, and image quality wasn't top tier then either. I would show you pictures so you can see what im talking about but let's be fair i don't want to embarrass myself. Your average 8 year old would've been playing with toys, tag or any game of that sort. I was the 8 year old that would rather sneak in my ipad and take action shots or just photos in the class for no absolute reason. My english was not top tier either, it was hard for me to really ever socialize with kids. I don't think I ever really was attentive or yet considerate with the fact I never really socialized with anyone as a kid should. It got to the point where I was literally banned from ever bringing a device to school, field trips included. Field trips were the worst, my palms would sweat from the fact I was so tempted and regretful of not getting to take any pictures. Students were allowed to bring their cameras to field trips but I'm talking about those rich privileged kids. I clearly don't sit in that category, I could not afford a camera although i would beg my mom for one constantly. That is how I spent my last ever years in elementary school begging for a darn camera. In middle school I avoided field trips just because going through my teenage years already was way too much for me to be stressing about not having a phone, or camera to take photos and sustain the memories I wished I had sustained. Field trips were the abundant source of socializing to represent this ¨popular¨ figure. So you can already imagine I was most definitely not that. I don't approve of middle school. Don't get me started going into high school… I don't think anyone really wanted to get started with it. Let's all be honest here. High School is really just people finding themselves making senseless decisions that they have no understanding of until they get the hang of it senior year but too late to make things right in your 4 years there. You constantly outgrow things and people. I would say I outgrew way too many things. For crying out loud I tried Graphic Design which I later ended up getting a scholarship to, Digital Media wasn't my favorite, Songwriting and producing until photography came to the picture….. Literally. To further ask teachers what courses there were for photography of some sort I always heard Yearbook so I took the opportunity to enroll in that class. Mr. Lee was already not really my favorite teacher because of how hard he was on us and treated that class like a work place. Little did I know his way of being hard on us would later benefit me not many years later. I was mainly first in charge of editing and adding photos and what not, until I got up and asked him when I had the open window to take photos at a game or anything really. I remember him asking if i had experience with taking pictures and of course i said yes what if i said no and he would disapprove of ever letting me. I was sweating bullets, while listening to that clock and tick and tick until he said yes. The excitement that struck me was like no other, it was like jumping out my boots. Everyday as the sun set, and had risen i would get even more and more anxious.¨Do i even know what i'm going to do?¨ ¨What if i don't get good pictures?¨ I would say to myself as the date would come closer than ever. As the day came, Lee gave me the camera and would start explaining the shots I needed to get and what would be going on so I wouldn't be all over the place. I started to head out and get ready to start taking pictures. Comes to find out there was another photographer there with this huge expensive camera. The photographer introduced themself and all was good. As you may think it was good, it was not. I felt so uneasy, itching, overall very uncomfortable with self doubt. I thought to myself ¨That will be me someday¨ and that saying put me at ease a bit and tried my best getting the shots i needed. After that day I constantly asked myself what my purpose was so I spent my time researching cameras and what not. Settings, Lights, Equipment, How to start a business is what was constantly on my search bar. Photography classes apart from school weren't really in the books for me so I had to teach myself. I would not trade the whole process of teaching myself for the world. I ended up buying my first ever camera, not saying it was the best but I was a pretty good beginner one. Apart from the one my mom gifted me for my 15th birthday. Little by little I would go around taking mainly landscape pictures or using my siblings as subjects to get an idea of what to do. I started my business at 15, booked a few sessions, not my favorite sessions but it was a start and I gained a lot of experience. Before each session I got really nervous, beyond to say. I still didnt know how to pose, or put settings yet correctly as one should. So every shoot I had towards the end I started to figure out what I could do better, and learned from there. I was still constantly watching videos though. I started upgrading my gear as I learned more about photography. Now I book weddings, which is a pretty big deal in the photography industry.As well as doing events, birthday shoots, and getting to work with big companies who work for vogue. Yes you heard that right Vogue. As crazy as it sounds for a senior to be doing this by juggling with school and a business, I'm making it happen. I've been shooting for over a year and a half now going on 2. Buying my first camera and asking for the opportunity to start shooting was the best decision I have ever made. I started to fall in love with photography and that benefitted me a lot. During these years I have met hundreds of people in the photography industry and made lots of friends too. I can say I found my purpose at last with something I absolutely love doing. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I fulfilled my wish from before where i had said my freshman year about that photographer's gear that ¨That will be me someday¨. Not to sound way too full of myself but becoming a photographer now going as a videographer too is my biggest accomplishment. I am still not where I want to be but I know I will get there eventually. Thankful for those who pushed me and for always supporting my nonsense. As well as the teacher who really started it off for me who now I have respect for. Shoot your shot, it's all about choices and use that in whatever context you feel is right because that is what got me to where I am now.