Growing up, I was always attached to shapes and colors, which is probably why I got into basketball, a bright orange sphere. This bright orange sphere introduced me to my friends, two of whom I came to call my best friends in grade school. Beginning high school, this sphere made life more complex, as it slowly took away my identity, using it for the wrong reasons trying to fit in with a crowd. When it was time to choose my career path, I hastily chose business because it was the “I don’t really know what I want to do with my life” major. College was bittersweet. I was having the time of my life, socializing and making new memories but something felt off. I completely lost my identity; I hit rock bottom. Soon later, I dropped out and was at ground zero. I remember laying in bed for five days straight, occasionally eating a couple protein bars and going right back to sleep out of hopelessness. One morning, I went for a run to clear my head when a garden of flowers caught my eye; white symmetrical petals with a violet and golden center that bled a soft purple toward the edges. It was my symbol of hope; I could see the colors of life again. I instinctively pulled out my phone to capture the moment. From that day, I decided to pick up my first digital camera, a Sony CyberShot, and started capturing the world around me. I found my identity; photography.

- Chris