Tell stories. help people.

From when I was 11 years old I told myself I was going to be a neonatal surgeon because that is how I thought you helped people. For years I watched doctors save my sister's life and knew that all I wanted was to give life to people. I wanted to see broken families be put back together; I wanted to hold even the tiniest human and tell her that she is loved and that sickness does not define her. I wanted to be there for the moment when entire worlds and lives are changed. I spent so many years searching for hope and was beginning to see glimmers of it.

Although I had always loved taking pictures, I told myself I loved science more. As hard as I tried though, I struggled and struggled in every science class. After failing both anatomy and biology during my freshman year of college, I had to come to terms with the fact that I may not be that surgeon I dreamed of being.

I see now that I was made to tell stories and that this is my way of saving lives. While studying journalism and working in a newsroom, I often heard people say that every person has a story to tell, unfortunately I quickly saw that as humans we only choose to tell some of them. That is why I want to give a voice to those who have been silenced by the world. I want to tell people they are worthy of being fully known and fully loved, that their story is worthy of being told regardless of their circumstances. I want to tell people who have never felt loved before that there is a mighty God who desperately loves them and promises that they will never be forgotten. After even just the first few minutes I spent volunteering in Swaziland, Africa, and having countless filthy, dirty, precious little hands grabbing for my camera, I quickly realized there is no other place I would rather be. After years of searching for hope, I finally found it.

My story may be untraditional, raw and messy. It may not even be the story I would have written for myself, but it is the story of redemption. It is the story of a God who knew every part of me, and still chose the cross; a Father who gave absolutely everything knowing that He would have to wait years and years for me to even know Him. I know that I will never be able to do it on my own. The only thing I do know is that my camera, my words, my God, brings life and I am so lucky.