To say what am I passionate about would be to start a long laundry list of items that would never end. Yes, its true. I like to think that I have many, many things that I admire and are head over heels in love doing. I consider myself to be an artist of various mediums. Although, I can’t deny that the smile of an emotional bride gets me all gooey inside or the story of a self-made-millionaire-woman entrepreneur excites my heart at 1000 beats mph. You see I extract inspiration from anything…Yes, anything. I truly believe that you can see beauty in EVERYTHING, and that’s why it’s so darn hard to narrow my list of passions.

It all started with enlisting in piano lessons. And yes, I purposely chose the word ‘enlisting’ because it was a part of my life that I learned discipline and strenuous technique at the tender age of six years old. It was difficult to learn pieces like the Matador or Fur Elise with my very petite hands–which have been made fun of, ridiculed and have caused high-pitched baby sounds from grown up adults. Moving on, I was determined to learn to play the pieces and to play them well. Then after years and years of boring classical and ancient pieces, I started to try to sing along with the instrumental pieces, making up lyrics and belting whatever came to mind. Mind you, this was during those semi-depressant pre-teen years, so it wasn’t anything too happy (imagine a tune by the likes of Torn by Natalie Imbruglia). I realized that I liked to write. Whether it was something spontaneous or a script for an essay. I love to give my opinion even if it wasn’t asked–which face it, who doesn’t? But I loved etching it on paper.

At this point, I had more than an inkling that I was left-brained and learned very differently from my peers but I kept trying to blend in with everybody else. I thought it was better to be like the rest of the pack and not be that one odd kid out in middle-school or high-school. SO, I kept pretending to be enamored with other things like boys, homework and other things that were parent and teacher-friendly, but not true to my heart. In class, I kept doodling. These are not the I’m-bored-kind-of doodles; these were little comic stories I drew so I could remember lectures and discussions. Once, I would revert to my notes and what not, seeing my sketches would instantly remind exactly every word spoken and uttered during that time. So studying for me did not look like reading and re-reading like most students do. Nope, my studying was reviewing doodles and very precise “key words” to match those notes.  I was in love with visuals. I was able to get a hold of a camera (a very cheap one, like drugstore cheap) and let’s just say my whole world turned around 180 degrees.
As I grew into my craft(s), I always loved working with people. I like to connect with people and consider myself to be very empathetic which can be my downfall and strength. My mamma always said that I never met a stranger. I strike up a conversation wherever I go whether on BART, Peet’s coffee, the cashier at my local Whole Foods or even abroad hauling my luggage. It’s just so enthralling to see other people’s walk of life-whether it’d be a glimpse or their life story. All in all, I find caring about people a passion. I know, I know what you might be thinking…”caring about people?” I grew up in church as you might’ve noted in the previous post. So for me it was oh-so-easy to give my heart away to people who needed a little warmth or help. My parents have gone beyond the extra mile to help people in a financial crisis, family issues and the whole nine. {Personal note: we even almost lost our house due to signing on someone’s behalf that was in quite the predicament.} So to say, I’m gullible-yes I am, but I like to believe in the best in people. Connecting with people is a passion and making a little difference in their life is my greatest calling. I could care less if people give me any credit towards making a difference, what makes me happy is to hear that they were able to come to their  triumph.

I pair my passions and have created what I am now. It’s not much, but it’s a start. I can’t pinpoint and say who exactly are the ones who invigorate me or propel me forward. I think that it’s the businesswoman next door trying to juggle everything, or a single mom striving to fulfill her kids’ needs, and the first-generation immigrant student learning English who inspires me. I think you’ll agree that we have all have layers upon layers of visuals and stories. I would be more than honored to capture it.

Till’ tomorrow …(will be blogging abroad)

Scouting locations nearby my house for my next styled shoot [#film]

From my recent trip to New York [#film]

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