I've seen the argument all over the internet lately: the professionals versus the hobbyist; the painters and sculptors versus the photographers. One is not better than the other, not when it comes to art, and there shouldn't be so much anger among these groups. Our goals are all the same: to make art and express ourselves.

Everyone who wants to be a photographer should be a photographer. Everyone should be allowed to express themselves in any way with whatever tools they have at hand. It doesn't matter to me if you use a cell phone or a professional grade camera- your art belongs to you. Don't let anyone stop you. We all start somewhere, and the best camera is the one you have. What matters is that you like it, and that you are able to express yourself. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't be a photographer. Don't let anyone tell you to stop because we all started somewhere.

Art is expression through visual cues; if you can't draw (and I can't), but you want to find a way to show what's in your head, you can do it with an array of mediums: with photos, with clay or something else that fits you. Be proud of what you do, and share it with the world. I could see something and put it into a perspective that others hadn't seen before and I was proud of that. I'm still proud of that, and it will always be that way because I am a photographer; even though I don't get paid for it I will always do everything I can to express myself.

Don't ever listen to the people that say you can't- but don't ignore criticism, because that might help you develop into a better artist. Use what you have to make art and share it. Everyone should be a photographer, a writer, an artist of some kind, because everyone has something to share.