Spirituality is a lone journey

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

I consider myself a citizen of the world, being Malagasy in nationality, but having been born in Algeria, bred and studied respectively in the U.S and France, and having travelled in different parts of Europe and India. I speak French and English fluently, have basic knowledge of Spanish, and am trying to learn Hindi!
I have always been curious about people and places, and my leitmotiv in life has always been and will always be “Choose the road less travelled.” So after a 7 year stint working behind an office computer, tired of my more than ordinary life, I decided to leave it all behind me and start afresh in 2010. At the time, my parents worked as diplomats in India, and having always been fascinated by this country, I decided to take up this opportunity to make it my first stop in my new start in life.
In October of 2010, I travelled alone over a 12 day period in the Northern parts of India, more precisely: Amritsar, Chamba Valley and Dharamsala. What I felt and learned through this trip is basically that spirituality is not only about prayer and rituals, it is about finding oneself and living according to one’s truths: “Spirituality is a lone journey.” Thus the name of my portfolio.
Regularly hunting for the beauty in the ordinary, photography is, for me, the art of storytelling. The way one reads a book and imagines the characters through words, one sees a picture and imagines the before, during and after of the scene displayed. I’d like to perfect this art of storytelling, by learning alongside an experienced mentor.
In the end, spirituality and learning have this in common that they require humility to accept one’s weaknesses and therefore accept the possibility of growth.