When Hobby Becomes Passion
I received my first camera on my ninth birthday from my sister. It was a small, purple point-and-shoot camera that I knew next to nothing about, but I fell in love with capturing moments both big and small. Little did I know at the time that cameras would play a huge part in my life; I have to believe that God did though.
As I reached high school, I was interested in joining both the journalism and yearbook classes to learn all I could about media, writing and producing a journalistic publication, specifically, photojournalism. I was met with resistance though due to my learning disabilities, including dyslexia.
Being dyslexic posed several problems with my aspirations to attend college and become a journalist in any form. I was encouraged to take classes that were not intended to prepare me for college, and instead, classes intended to set me up for more technical careers. I am not saying technical careers are not difficult, because they are, but I knew being a cosmetologist or chef was not in my future. I don’t even wear makeup and I cannot cook to save my life!
God continued placing this longing within me to learn all I could about writing and photography. Even though I have been faced with many seemingly impossible brick walls, I continued to push forward knowing God would make it possible if I relied on Him to make a way.
I argued with the school and pursued my wishes to write and create publications until the yearbook advisor and the journalism advisor both allowed me in their classes. This is where I really learned the most I could about that tiny, outdated camera I received as a gift when I was a child.
The yearbook advisor poured into me the summer before my last year in high school, affording me opportunities to attend yearbook conferences and helped to really develop a vision for the yearbook my senior year. The yearbook staff even won a few awards for the first time in school history that year!
Through this, the biggest lesson I learned was that even through the hardest circumstances, persistence prevails.
This lesson was reinforced as I entered college. I was accepted to the school newspaper almost immediately based on the samples I submitted to the advisor and quickly became the main photographer at my campus. I had opportunities to cover when Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr attended our campus, as well as meeting the actor who played the principal on Saved By The Bell. I was trained to take over the chief photographer’s role once she graduated, which I did. Our newspaper went on to win several awards in photography within the collegiate press association both before I graduated, and after.
Through this hobby that grew into an artistic passion, there have been many experiences and opportunities to manifest from this. Even when no one else believes in you, push on and do not take no for an answer. Believe in yourself and your craft, because when you succeed, it will be worth it. God is in your corner!
One successful woman that has impacted and inspired me and my determination has been J. K. Rowling. Looking at her hardships becoming an author, it is reported that her books were declined by multiple publishers before it was finally picked up for production by Bloomsbury. She is now reported to be one of the most successful authors of all time. If she were to not push forward with sending her manuscripts to publishers, the world would never know the story of Harry Potter.
Determination and faith together pushed me further in this hobby turned passion that brings joy to my life, as well as my subject’s lives. Sometimes, the best story’s are written without even a single word.
