Coming into photography I was the child taking pictures of blades of grass, the landscape wall, and the grapevine growing up the pergola out in my backyard. My passion grew over time especially after every dance my sister attended and my mother handed me the camera for. I was given the responsibility of taking photos of my sisters and her friends which meant positioning them and making sure that their hair, dresses, and flowers are in the right place and that they are not taking away from their photo. I was looked at as the cool little sister because I was able to take the photos for them and they were up to their standards at the time which was a really big deal. Every time I took their photos I wanted to get better because I wanted them to use the photos and keep coming back to me to ask to take them. So for me at first I just wanted to fit in with the older girls and have my sister bring me around her and her friends.
Once my sister graduated and I went on to high school I began taking classes that need my skills as a photographer such as yearbook, photoshop, and video editing. These classes helped me to realize certain things about the camera that I had not known before and helped me to really get more comfortable around photography. My skills grew little by little during my high school years. Coming into college though I decided to apply to be a part of a THON committee to hopefully find my place at Penn State when I was otherwise lost at the beginning. I applied to be a THON photographer and once accepting the position I began to take photos for more things and all of a sudden my why changed. I started to take pictures for myself and prove that I deserved to be on such a committee. I also began to take photos for the Four Diamonds Families so that they can have memories at an amazing experience. I began to take photos to capture priceless memories that I was witnessing through my eyepiece on my camera. And I began to get excited to share the photos that I was taking with my DSLR with people and show them the memories that I was witnessing. My why will always be to take the best photos that I can take.