On the first day of class, my professor put a quote up on the board.
"'Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living’ — Miriam Beard.”
I scrambled to write down this simple sentence on the first page of the rosy red new journal that now lays next to my bed, tattered and full of carefully detailed memories from what is, undoubtedly, the best three months I’ve so far lived. This quote, much like the advice of the professor that shared it, served as an epiphany. (The word ‘epiphany’ sounds dramatic, but the choice in vocabulary is justified, I promise.) For the few weeks preceding this moment, I had recognized a change in myself, but was too naive, and therefore reluctant, to accept the cliche idea that ‘traveling changes you.’
Cliche, smliche. Anybody that has had the opportunity to travel, and I mean truly travel, will agree; it changes your outlook on life in a passionate, monumental way that makes the English language seem almost too simple to provide you with appropriate enough words to describe it.
Okay. Now that sounds a bit dramatic.
(Disclaimer: I am not usually such a pompous know-it-all and I, in no way, am claiming to have travelled or experienced enough to warrant such a rant as this. However, this is my own portfolio so I suppose I can really do whatever I want.) (Another disclaimer: I promise there is actually a point to all of this.)
This past summer I had the incredible opportunity to backpack through the German and Austrian Alps (majority of the trip done alone, until I met up with my best friend who happens to have caught the same travel-bug as I have) before living and working in London for the rest of the summer at an amazing internship (with the most amazing boss) that inspired much of this rant and the entirety of this portfolio. One year prior, I studied at an art institute in Florence, Italy for the summer, followed by a short backpacking adventure to Switzerland and a trip through France with my family.
And, since my entire contention lays upon the fact that this change of perspective I experienced cannot be captured in a paragraph or two, I have instead chosen to capture and display it in these photographs. Here lay the physical representations of some of the moments that helped shape me into the nauseatingly happy person that I am today, (although here’s to the many more adventures I hope will continue to change and inspire me in the years to come). This collection holds a sliver of the pictures I took from my time abroad so far, majority of them professional (as the entire purpose of this site is ultimately to try to showcase/prove my ~artistic skill and ability~), with a couple sporadic cameos from my trusty traveling partner and just a few shameless selfies that serve no purpose but to, hopefully, remind those scrolling through of the immense enjoyment that lies beneath each of these images. It was through traveling, and these particular moments, that I gained the confidence to realize, and ultimately pursue, my passion for design, photography, and adventures.
So here ya go.
Taken at the Innsbruck Train Station