Storyteller

I have always known that I wanted to become a storyteller.

When I was 10-years-old, my parents gifted me with my first magazine subscription: Teen People. (Does anyone even remember this magazine???) I was immediately immersed in the world of pop culture, celebrities and fashion. I absorbed every article and fashion spread and even imagined myself as a magazine editor in New York City. Well, we all know what happens to Teen People...they stopped publishing issues.

But my love for magazines didn't stop there. I then subscribed to Seventeen magazine and I found myself religiously reading the editor-in-chief's "letter from the editor," every month. I became so obsessed with the idea of working for a magazine, that at the age of 13 I was emailing editors asking for internships with their publications. And of course, they all said the same thing, "we only accept college interns." (Looking back at this, they must have found it amusing that a random 13-year-old wanted to work for them. Ha.)

The next issue I added to my monthly subscription: Teen Vogue. After a few issues of Teen Vogue, I was less interested in Seventeen with the "how to" spreads and more interested in articles found in Teen Vogue. (My love for Teen Vogue was so great that for my 16th birthday I sent my friends a Teen Vogue magazine with the invitation attached inside. What?)

But like all angsty teenagers, I wanted to feel more like an adult. So I was introduced to the world of Vogue magazine through the September 2007 issue. (There is a documentary about this issue. Oh yeah.) 

Oh and you should also know, that from middle school until high school I was in yearbook. Through this class, I was able to learn all about layout designs, photography and deadlines. In high school I fell in love with photojournalism after being assigned by my yearbook adviser to do a feature on Steve McCurry. His photograph, "Afghan girl," made me cross out all of the nonsense gifts I wanted for Christmas that year and all I wanted was a DSLR camera. (Here is where I wanna say that my parents have always supported my love for photography and have gone above and beyond by providing me with photography equipment.) 

I say all of this, because my love for magazines intertwined with my love for yearbook and I found myself at Harding University already plugged in with Student Publications and I joined the department of communication as a public relations major.

Fast forward to today, May 1st, the day I present my senior portfolio featuring my work from the past four years of my college career. I have always wanted to be a storyteller and today I will be sharing and telling my own story. 

I still dream about being a magazine editor, photojournalist and even a yearbook adviser. But my biggest dream is to tell the stories of others, and ultimately, I want to tell people the story of Jesus and his love for us.