When it came time to choose what I wanted to do after high school, I knew one thing for certain: I wanted to study photography. I wanted to learn everything I could about my camera, understand the art behind a photograph and turn something I had loved for years into something more.
That dream took me all the way to Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina, where I received both an academic scholarship and a swimming scholarship. After registering online, accepting my scholarships and packing my bags, I moved to another country to begin what I thought would be the next chapter of my life with my camera.
Gaffney was the first small town I had ever lived in, and there was something about it that I immediately fell in love with. The slower pace, the small-town feel and the sense of community made it such a special place to call home. Looking back, I think that experience helped shape the kind of environments I still love today.
But there was one thing I hadn't expected.
When I arrived and began getting settled into school, I was told that I would have to choose another major because the photography programme had been discontinued. I was devastated. Photography was the reason I had chosen the school in the first place, and all I wanted was the opportunity to learn more about something I was so passionate about.
For the next year and a half, I remained undecided, trying to figure out what direction I wanted to take. Eventually, I chose psychology. Although it wasn't photography, it gave me the opportunity to learn about something else I had always found fascinating: people. How we develop, how our brains work and what makes each of us who we are.
Even though my major had changed, my love for photography hadn't. I spent my free time taking photography courses wherever I could, always looking for opportunities to learn and improve. I still wanted to understand my camera better, experiment with different techniques and discover what I could create.
Once again, one of my photography teachers saw something in me and reminded me that I had something special. They encouraged me never to lose my spark. Those words stayed with me, especially during a time when the path I had imagined for myself had taken a completely different turn.
And it was during those university years that I photographed my very first engagement session.
The couple? My sister and my now brother-in-law.
We were all attending school together at the time, and getting to capture such a special moment for them was one of the best experiences. It was a chance to practise what I was learning, but it was also an opportunity to create something meaningful for people I loved.
Looking back at those photographs now makes me laugh. I can see how much I have grown, how much I have learned and all the little things I would probably do differently today. But I also see where it started. I see the excitement, the experimenting and a younger version of myself who was simply happy to have a camera in her hands.
When I returned to Canada, I knew that my plans hadn't unfolded the way I had expected. I hadn't graduated with a photography degree, and my education had taken me in a completely different direction. But somewhere along the way, I had learned that photography didn't need to be my major for it to remain a part of my life.
My passion had never really left. If anything, it was only just getting started.
And little did I know that the photographs I was taking during those years, the people who trusted me with their memories and all the time I spent learning on my own would eventually become the foundation for something I couldn't yet imagine.
