When I was around ten or eleven, I had a few family members in town visiting for about a week. We were hanging around my great-great-grandfather’s house and my aunt wanted to a picture of the whole family standing around Granddaddy Frank. I volunteered to take the picture, took a quick snapshot, and handed the camera back to my aunt.

“Nykia, this picture is beautiful!” I remember her saying. “No heads are cut off; you didn’t get too much of the ceiling.” She turned to my mom and said, “I think you have a little photographer on your hands.”

That one comment from so long ago inspired me to get into photography. I want to take all the classes that I can and get even better at what I love. I want to become a traveling photojournalist and take all the pictures of the beautiful things in life and write out the story I see in these pictures.

I love the feeling of a camera in my hands. It doesn’t matter if it’s an iPhone camera or a disposable camera or one of those fancy-shmancy doohickies that let you zoom in so close, you can count the freckles on someone’s face 13 feet away. I love the awkward-but-totally-worth-it positions I have to get in just so I can get the perfect shot. I love crouching down and lying flat on the ground. I love the strange looks I get from passersby. Whatever thoughts they have of the weird girl lying in the grass for a picture only makes me laugh.

I love the scenery that I see before me every day, and I love how my mind is always thinking of ways of turning what’s right in front of me into the perfect picture. I love to watch the rain and snow and sun. I pray that I am able to catch that droplet of water on a flower petal, or that one snowflake that differs from all the others, or the rays of sun breaking through tree leaves in such a magical way. I love knowing that even though my pictures don’t compare to nature’s true beauty, I am still able to keep a piece of it with me.

I love watching people make memories. I love catching them off guard with a flash of light at the sound of the camera going click. Catching people off guard is the best because you are able to capture what they are feeling in that moment. There are no poses or fake, unconvincing smiles. There are only true emotions and real life.

I love looking over what I have captured and reminiscing over the good and bad. I love that I can’t turn my mind off when it comes to what will make the perfect snapshot. Best of all, I love that I will never have to turn it off. Seeing every little thing in front of me as a picture brings some form of beauty, no matter what. It helps me smile and get through the tough parts of life.