I sat alone at a high table in Franks Hall. One of my classes got out early, so I had a little time to try to catch up on emails. So, there I sat, tapping away at my cell-phone, when another student sat across from me. I smiled at him.

His eyes matched his shirt which matched his book bag. Maybe it’s the artist in me, but I notice these things. He was quick to comment on my “long text”. I laughed a little and said, “no, just answering emails”. He gave me a confused expression and said, “emailing professors on the second day of classes? Over achiever”. I laughed again, mostly because I actually emailed my professors on the first day. Yep, goody-two-shoes over here. But I didn’t tell him that. I told him that I’m a photographer and that I’m emailing clients. Again, he looked confused. He asked me if I had a business (as if such a thing was impossible and crazy). I explained that I have a studio downtown and that I’ve been in business for just a little over five years. This time, he looked surprised. His eyes were big when he said, “wow”. I responded with a “thank you” that could only be described as… quiet.

Then he asked me a question that I never got to answer, but I’ve been thinking about it for the past three days: “why do you do it?”

At first, I thought he was asking why I would be in school. Right? Because why would someone question my one true love? I was thinking of an answer when his friend – who had apparently been eavesdropping – interrupted with, “probably because it’s money”. With that, they laughed, and the boy with the book bag that matched his shirt that matched his eyes walked away. I really wish I hadn’t simply watched them walk away.

He was wrong. It’s not money. Not to be blunt, but if it were “money”, I wouldn’t be in this profession. No… I wish I would’ve told him that it isn’t the money… It’s the love and eagerness I see in the eyes of a husband looking at his expecting wife. It’s the fact that I get the honor of filling out a card for a scrapbook because I was the first person to visit a client’s baby boy in the hospital. It’s the Oreos and milk I share with a couple of 1-year-old twins. It’s the way my 4-year-old client refused to smile for her preschool picture because “Taylor wasn’t behind the camera”, and the way my 5-year-old client calls me his girlfriend. It’s the late chilly winter nights spent in my warm studio… or the early mornings spent curled up in front of a computer screen. It’s the way I am trusted with something that is immeasurable: memories.  It’s these kids, these parents, this LOVE, that I see every single day. That is why I do it.

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And, now that THAT’S written and finally off of my chest, with no further adieu, I would like to introduce you to Pamela and Corrie. The love between them is contagious and I cannot wait to witness the love they have for their son. Get ready for some seriously gorgeous people, folks. 🙂

xo