This was not at all the semester I expected.
But it was the one I got.
And if you followed my April Favorites podcast recommendation, you know that stoics wouldn't really give the previous expectation much importance. They would, instead, focus on what they got and what they can make out of that. Yes, I'm trying to incorporate stoicism into my life. But I'm not here to talk about that. I just wanted to hop in here to say that although the semester was hard for all of us, I'm really proud of the work I achieved.
You see, I'm that person who has many ideas and constantly gets inspiration from an infinite number of sources, but I almost never set apart space from my schedule to execute those ideas in my head. During this semester, I was forced to. Not only by the ambitious girl in my head that reminded me of the potential this immensity of time had in my hands but also because my college assignments required me to do so.
I'm not going to talk about the whole chaos that was my semester. If you want to read about how I made it out of Italy alive, let me know. The real purpose of this short blog post is to announce that I've now inaugurated a tiny space on this website to share some of the projects I've done and will continue to do, in hopes that maybe I can spark something in you as others did in me previously.
Many of the classes I had the pleasure of taking during my semester with Institute Lorenzo de' Medici were classes that I've always wanted to take, but never found the time —the time was there, I just didn't take it— or never saw much use for them —"I like it but there surely are a thousand others better than me, and it'll take me nowhere"—. One example is Introduction To Photography. I wasn't alien to the photography world; it's actually pretty common to see me carrying a camera around. However, taking that class allowed me to tune into many things I never knew could improve a shot and to finally stop being intimidated by the camera's manual function.
I'm still trying to unlearn the fake mindset that says that sharing what makes one proud of oneself is equal to bragging. As I write, I'm forcing myself to not change my chosen word to quieter ones. I really hope you see my real intentions. So, here are the links to my projects, which you can also find in the new menu option titled "work".
My sister is my favorite person on the entire planet. Coming back home was made easier by her. I wanted to portray what sisterhood means to me in a series of pictures. We lean on each other, we complete each other, we have pieces of one another visibly or invisibly in us...
I wanted to illustrate how Florence, although short-lived, gave me a clearer reflection glance into myself. I ended up learning a lot about myself, my reality, and the role I play in it. I found little things of home in Florence and now that I’m back, I find small things of Florence here. It’s quite a paradox because anywhere I go, I look for things from home and other places I’ve been to.
I believe the expression of matter in its simplest forms is in shadow. A shadow, for me, contains the true essence of any one thing. With these 8 photographs, I’ve found part of the essence of me, along with my hometown and the city I long for: Firenze.
I'm really grateful for this semester. I never thought I'd say that. I'm grateful to every one of my teachers, my family and friends who cheered me on, my roommates who will remain being called my "roomies", and this camera which I'll keep on exhausting after the kind words from my professor: "Please keep on doing this."
As you can also continue pushing forward, despite the hard times. It's a matter of starting. From then on, the rest is history.
Now that I've finished giving my valedictorian speech (hehe oops), I'll get off the podium and say thanks once more and see you next Friday.
