Really Short Journal

At the beach we are....

Australia | Monday, June 24, 2013 | 5 photos

When I was 12 years old I discovered National Geographic magazines. I collected them from second-hand book sales, cut out pictures and stuck them on my bedroom wall instead of Backstreet Boy posters. The photos gave me a feeling, told me a story, took me to another place. When I grew up I was going to be a National Geographic photographer. Of course, this was entirely unrealistic, so I became a TESOL teacher instead.
I love my job, but the passion for photography has stayed with me. I get a thrill when I capture something beautiful or show what I saw in a place or a person. I love to travel, but my role as visitor or teacher has often made it difficult for me to pull out a camera. I would love to be able to travel simply as a photographer.
Photo journalist is still my dream job, and I sometimes wonder if I should have written it off so quickly. This competition re-awakened the old dream. I would learn so much from this trip. I have had no formal training and am using only a very basic camera. I would love to learn more. More than anything, this scholarship would be a possible step into the type of job I have dreamed of.