Growing up...

As a kid growing up, I lived a pretty traditional lifestyle. A loving family, public schooling, Sunday morning church, my friends and I would spend many days throughout the summers riding our bikes through our neighborhoods, and I played soccer and baseball. Overall life was simple, as it should be for a kid. These were the only things I knew and that's how I thought my life was always going to be.

You never really think about the greater meaning of life when you're a kid. Some kids have dreams of what they want to be when they grow up. For me, however, this was not the case until I was almost in high school, when my passion for weather started. In my last blog, I talked about where my interest in weather stemmed from. I highly recommend reading that post after this one for more context. Ultimately, I started exploring the world of meteorology. Seemingly every day I would draw my own weather maps, stare at the sky, and wait for the local TV weather coverage every night. It seemed like being a meteorologist was going to be my career path going forward.

How the journey began...

13 years later, I am not a meteorologist. And I no longer have the desire to be one so what changed? To be honest, I am not really sure. A year after I started exploring meteorology, I simply just stopped pursuing anything with meteorology and weather as a whole until 2015 where that interest was reborn. With a little bit of help from... photography!

I started taking an interest and putting it to practice. Many hours of learning the basics of photography, how to use a camera, how to utilize composition in photography, and more. The more consistent I was, the better I would become. With this knowledge I had taught myself, I was finally able to put it all together with my first digital camera in 2017! It was then I knew, I wanted to share my vision with the world.

The meaning behind the journey...

Everyone has a journey in life and no journey is ever the same. Some work towards a career, start a family, buy a house, and retire. And while those are all great, for me, it's a little different. Yes, I am working towards my dream career of storm chasing full time and traveling all over the world. However, it's much more than that! I want to share with the world just how incredible and precious our planet is. I want to experience every aspect of life, the good, the bad, and the uncertainty. Life is not meant to be easy, otherwise, there would be no meaning behind what we accomplish in this life we are given.

For that reason, I thrive to embrace everything life throws at me, capture the moments through my journey, and never take a moment for granted. I use my photography as a way to showcase my journey. From the late nights under the aurora to the long days under stormy skies and show no matter who you are or what you've been through, that there is so much beauty and awe left in the world. I hope to translate what it means to me through the lenses of my vision to those who are interested in following me through this journey.

This mentality did not come easy, however. In 2019, a couple months after I started college, my family and I lost a very important person in my life. My grandma. In a span of one month we lost her to pancreatic cancer and losing her was one of the hardest moments of my life. I felt lost, I was depressed, and I was angry. My grandma was one of the biggest supporters of my photography and looked forward to seeing me grow as a photographer. It took me a while to find my way through the grief of losing her, but in the end, I remembered the times of when she told me how proud she was to see me pursue my passion for photography. I simply could not give up photography, I had to keep going.

It was then in 2021, where I graduated with my business degree in photography and digital media. Following graduation, I took a summer off to travel all around the country chasing storms and exploring as many new places as I could. It shaped a new perspective for me and is ultimately where my journey started to take shape.

Appreciation for traveling...

As a storm chaser, I travel... a lot! It's rather typical to put in 30,000+ miles of travel in a span of just a few months every year, especially during the peak storm months across the Great Plains. Add on traveling to hunt down the aurora borealis or find unique places, and the miles really start accumulating! Despite all of this, I love to travel. Whether it's a quick drive to the outskirts of town or a half a day trip out to the Plains, you can guarantee I will go out of my way to chase that passion.

There's a sense of freedom and wonder when it comes to traveling. Out on the open road and away from life back home. Not to mention, the new places I discover when I travel! That alone is what makes storm chasing unique. Not necessarily experiencing the storms I chase, but discovering rural towns, old buildings, unique landscapes, or history that I may not have ever realized existed if I didn't storm chase. It's a feeling that only enhances my motivation to travel and capture the moments through my journey of life! I've come to appreciate the feeling the more I travel and utilize it as a way of therapy for me, especially when I need it the most.

Final thoughts...

While the journey is not always easy, it's important to embrace every moment for what it is. Some moments will feel like you're on top of the world while others will bring you to an all-time low. But, what I have learned through my journey so far is, no matter what happens, I have to keep going. Sharing my photography and my vision is the ultimate reason of why I continue to pursue my passions and goals in life. I want to share my journey through it all with you! Life is not easy, so it is important to embrace the challenges while celebrating the accomplishments. Anything is possible to achieve in this life, all you need is passion and determination to find the true meaning of what you want your life to be.

Especially to those of you who are still reading, I am so honored to have you here! You being a part of the journey provides me more opportunities and motivation to share my visions with you. I thrive to provide the meaning of life through the lenses of my camera and hope to provide a sense of perspective to those of you who are a part of the journey. It means the world to have your support! If you have not checked out my previous blog post on the story behind my work and how this all started, I highly recommend you check it out by clicking here! Until next time...