I am a person of memories. I’ve said this many times. Good or bad, that’s who I am. Thus, the reason I love photography and writing. They are vehicles for me to document or record the past. I’m sentimental to a fault and define myself by my past experiences. But I have a hard time remembering, or rather I have a hard time remembering exactly how I felt at a certain moment in time, which fascinates me and keeps me re-visiting old photos and writing pieces. My favorite subjects are people, particularly teenagers. I taught 13-15 year olds for 10 years, and absolutely loved the age. They are thoughtful, observant, lively, refreshing, honest (sometimes when it’s painful), sensitive, aware, and ever-changing. For 10 years I had the opportunity to witness young people on the verge of becoming who they are. It was beautiful. Sometimes hard, but worth it (isn’t everything worth it hard?). Now that I have the chance to photograph them at such a pivotal point in their lives, I’m constantly reminded of the emotional value a photograph holds. Time is fleeting, but a picture constant. It says, this is who I am. Right now.