Ever since I can remember, I would dream of far away places. My neighbor, a loyal subscriber to Travel + Leisure, would pass the magazines to my mom after she had finished reading them for me. Stacks and stacks of T+L would be waiting for me to devour. And devour I did. I had never seen such beautiful places, only having known the state of Kentucky. Those magazines taught me to dream of one day seeing those places with my own eyes. That was all it took for me to be hooked! 

My first time leaving the country was in high school when my parents booked us a trip to Jamaica. We stayed at a resort but the excursions into the Jamaican countryside were what really grabbed my attention. I decided then that I wanted my travel to be more than resorts with high walls.   

After that trip, it wouldn’t be until college that I was able to travel again. Finally in control of my own travel destinies and armed with money saved from working jobs on campus, I jumped at any opportunity I could. It led me to a summer volunteering in Germany, an internship in Panama, and a semester abroad in Southeast Asia. By this point, my passion for photography had also begun to blossom as my camera collection grew from 2 megapixel point-and-shoots to a Nikon DSLR. As I fell in love with the places I was seeing, I was falling in love with capturing them just as much.   

After I finished grad school, I sold my car and used the money to backpack around Europe and Morocco for the summer. I was waking up and shooting everyday and I had never been more happy, even if it meant living in hostel dorms and washing my laundry in the sink. I reluctantly returned to start a job in DC, one with a favorable PTO policy I might add. Every few months, I’d set aside a week or two to go somewhere new. I think I was the only analyst who used all of their PTO in the first year at the firm! 

After experiencing city life for 3 years, I was ready for something new. I ran out my apartment lease, sold all of my furniture and packed one suitcase on a one-way flight to San Diego, California. I had dreamed of exploring the western USA for years and I was finally ready to take the leap. Camera in hand, I traveled every nook and cranny of California, road tripped to Arizona and Utah, and flew up to the Pacific Northwest to explore Oregon and Washington. I still call San Diego my home today and continue to shoot and travel every chance I get! I have since added two 35mm film cameras to my collection as well as a drone and underwater camera housing in order to continue to learn and grow in photography practice.   

At the start of 2022, I finally decided to chase my dreams full-time and put in my 2 weeks notice to my job of over 4 years. I booked a one-way flight to Mexico and have spent the last few months working my way down to South America. I have never been so passionate or excited about pursing travel photography and content creation as a full-time career. And I am ready to work for it.