*in no particular order
Highlights
- Catching the sunset from Hammershus Castle Ruins — running between ancient stone walls with my nose running and camera in my freezing hands, trying to capture the ethereal beauty of my surroundings before the light faded. Realizing the futility of my mission when I put my camera down to catch my breath, glimpsing the fiery sun sinking beneath the sea as darkness enshrouded the castle grounds.
- Hiking with strangers in Washington — bonding with fellow tree-huggers over breathless conversations about post-grad life while scrambling up rocks, enveloped by rugged mountains, vibrant foliage, and sparkling lake views.
- The present that almost didn’t arrive in time —miraculously crossing paths with the UPS truck that was carrying my end-of-semester gift for a classmate on my car ride to the airport, ft. a flying pair of underwear.
- Photo assisting on over 15 shoots — from portraits of Jodi Picoult petting goats to GIFs of dino veggie nuggets marching through a kale forest.
- Second shooting at 3 weddings — my first time photographing (and attending!) a wedding.
- Visiting Grace in Portland, ME — long walks and heartfelt chats by the water, g̶u̶s̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶c̶e̶r̶a̶m̶i̶c̶ ̶m̶u̶g̶s working together in pottery cafes, eating TJ’s cold brew boba ice cream while sitting on Grace’s apartment floor watching Mr. Robot on a laptop.
- Candid career conversations with Victor — finding a mentor that wholeheartedly invests in my success by empowering me to recognize my value, advocate for myself, and face challenges bravely.
Lowlights
- Getting hacked on Venmo—a $fabulous$ start to my Seattle trip :)).
- Mid-photoshoot breakdowns — crying while attempting in vain to dry my socks using a bathroom hand dryer in the iRobot HQ. The perks of being a production assistant lol.
- Never-ending chronic health issues — what’s a synonym for listening to hours of classical music on hold and waiting nearly half a year for an appointment only to receive a handful of speculative diagnoses and referrals to more specialists, plus a stack of expensive bills? The U.S. healthcare system.
- Freelancer shit — why is making a living as a creative so confusing and hard??
- IBS — is this even worth mentioning still…
2021 in a nutshell: I hit the snooze button once at the beginning of the year — five minutes later, it’s somehow December 31. Does time really fly, or is physics a lie? Maybe I’ll figure it out in 2022…but most likely not :).
Cheers to a new year.
