Originally Published October 30th, 2016

“There is nothing more important you can ever do for this world than to wake up and be a part of it.” -Adam Duritz

The winter months were stagnant. I did nothing but work and spent my free time pursuing other interests. Then in the spring I lost a very close family member. It sent me to a dark place that took many months to recover from. I had never lost anyone so close.  While my grandma’s passing wasn’t a sudden shock, it affected all of my family in ways that are still felt today.

After her passing I gathered photos together for a memorial and created a collage of all the moments from her life.

Through this process, I gained two significant insights into photography. One was the importance of having photos to pass down. Two was how the images told a story of her life. I learned more about her and who she was by viewing these images.

After all of this I spent several months in and out of a depressive state. I started developing bad habits to deal with the stress. I knew the road I was heading down was not in the direction of my dreams. With help from Ashley I decided to make a change.

I went back to what I had learned about myself the previous year. I needed a mountain to climb. Instead of waiting for it to find me, I needed to pick myself up and go find it.