So….I figured I should formally introduce myself, to those of you who don’t know me. Notice where my priorities lie….I explained the proper definition of PHOTOGRAPHY before I told you about me. Not very good manners, if I do say so myself. Allow me to start over.
Hi, I’m Jennifer. I’m a photographer. I always have been.
I was the nerd in high school carrying a camera around EVERYWHERE. There’s always one, right? It was me. I didn’t do it to try to be cool (yeah, I was NOT cool in high school), but I did it because of some strange obsession with capturing EVERYTHING. I guess it’s a version of…er…digital hoarding. (Takes up much less space and is much cleaner than real hoarding! 🙂 ) While other kids my age were out partying, I invited my few close friends over on friday nights to sit in my dad’s attic  and….(brace yourselves…) paint. Yes, I hosted painting parties. We would play Enya, and while other people were breaking out the vodka, we broke out the water colors and drew to our hearts content. (Have I mentioned I was NOT cool in high school? I was smart, don’t get me wrong. And motivated. I mean, after all, I WAS the president of the honor society, VP of the spanish honor society, editor of the newspaper, and a member of band, jazz band, pep band, marching band, pit band, every band there possibly was, I was in it. I sang, I drew, I played my flute, piccolo, saxophone, oboe on occasion… so when I graduated, I did what any young artist would do. Applied for PRE-MED.
WHAT???? Yes. My first 3 years of college were spent dissecting cats, and pigeons, and I think a turtle. I excelled in comparative vertebrate anatomy, biology, calculus, etc. My professor pulled me aside and said I would make one of the best surgeons he had ever seen.  Then I took Organic Chem 2…. and cried.
and cried, and cried, and cried. And passed…with a C, but man did it suck! And all these 3 years, I watched the artists walking to class in their Birkenstocks, portfolios, listening to rusted root…. and I missed my art.
It was a difficult phone call. “mom, dad, I’m not going to be a doctor. I’m going to be a photographer” And maybe it was a mistake. But I believe that every action we take in life leads us to where we are supposed to be, and this is where I am supposed to be. Maybe I could have been a doctor right now, working in a fancy hospital, making lots of money. But I’m not. I’m living in Daytona Beach Florida. With 3 cats, a big dog, and my boyfriend. I’m about to load up my car in the pouring rain to drive an hour to take pictures. And you know what? I love it, and I don’t regret anything.
So here’s to all the people out there that are good at something. Or a few things. Maybe it’s making amazing pieces of art out of forks. (I met a guy that did that. incredible!) Maybe it’s your talent to paint houses. Maybe you absolutely LOVE grooming dogs. Maybe you have a tea-cup pig and make some of the most beautiful jewelry i’ve seen! 🙂 Maybe you like talking to people, or painting other people’s toe nails. Or taking pictures, like me. Whatever it is, go for it. Don’t let anything stand in your way! Because at the end of the day, its your life, and you can’t be anything other than what you are. Love you all!
