A good friend of mine once told me that one of my most prevailing characteristics was that I have always been open to others, whether it be trying new things and stepping out of my comfort zone, being present to those around me and living in the moment, or simply getting to know someone new and hearing their story. This has stuck with me ever since, and has definitely given me the ever-growing courage to strengthen and solidify bonds with whomever I am fortunate enough to meet along my journey.

I have always been enamored by the idea of inspiration. We, as unique individuals, draw our own inspiration from tons of different foundations and express ourselves in many different ways – through music, art, dance, communication, anything. At the end of the day, however, we all have a common aim. That is to be the best people we can possibly be, and there is nothing more inspiring to me than one who is ambitious and passionate about what they do and what they love.

My family always had high expectations of me. They're all lawyers and engineers so you can imagine the reception I got once I started taking photography classes in school 7 years back. My mother urged me to leave photography alone. She couldn't wrap her head around the possibility that something like photography could be profitable. Sometimes I couldn't myself. I just knew I loved doing it. Validation came soon after when I received a message from Street Dreams Magazine, a well known magazine and platform, that my picture was going to be in the Street Dreams issue 008 image number 66. The amount of pride was indescribable. I knew then that I could do this.

Photography has blessed me with the best of both of these worlds. Through photography, I am able to listen to the words from an endless amount of amazing people that are willing to share their beautiful stories with me. This then allows me to gather ideas that aid me in carrying out my job as a visual storyteller, ultimately giving back to those who have humbled and inspired me by capturing the best images I possibly can.