La Pura Vida

My Scholarship entry - La Pura Vida

Costa Rica | Sunday, November 23, 2014 | 5 photos

I've always known there's beauty out there in the world. Growing up in Seattle with both Mt. Rainier and the Puget Sound in my backyard, it was easy for me to escape the troubles of the civilized world and explore the wonders of the natural one. As I got older though, I realized not everyone knew about what was right outside; it shocked me that my friends were so close to glaciers and waterfalls and a volcano, yet had never experienced them. After deciding on a career in journalism, I knew that that was what I wanted to write about - I wanted to discover all the amazing, weird, quirky, beautiful things on our planet and share them with the world. After studying abroad in Costa Rica and taking a crash course in photojournalism, it surprised me how hard getting the perfect shot was, but so rewarding at the same time. All the things I could not express in words, I could capture with pictures. I may not have been a dedicated photographer since birth, but I'm learning every day, carrying my camera around, capturing the daunting deserts of Arizona or the delight of children playing in a fountain on a hot day. I know there is beauty in the world, and I know that it's my future to show this beauty to all, both with words and with pictures.