User:Sarahbrown

=Humanities I/The Commons=

Bio
Being born and raised in America’s Midwest could lead one to believe that I have had a boring life. In truth, that believer would be wrong. My up bringing was far from being boring and has pushed me to want more from every aspect of my life. Having been raised in Jackson, MI, the “halfway” point between Detroit and Chicago, I’ve seen some of life’s ugliest sides and some of it’s most beautiful blessings. With that said, Jackson wasn’t one of those cookie cutter towns that you felt safe to walk down the street alone or to ask your neighbor for a cup of sugar. Jackson was the complete opposite. It was violent and I grew up in it. At the age of five, a man was shot and killed right in front of one of my many childhood homes. Drugs ran rampant and the streets were no place to be seen. I watched my sister turn from my best friend, my big sister, into a crazed, crack addict with four children. I, myself, fell victim to the nightmare. I was assaulted twice while living in Jackson. I watched the world around me fall deeper into the darkness and I wanted to remember something of my life. This feeling pushed me toward photography. I wanted to capture the world around me so people could see their own actions. Aside from the crazy world that surrounded me as I grew up, my father had a great influence on my photography. Through out my father's high school years he worked for the school's yearbook as a photographer and later went on to join the military. He soon found himself shipped off to war during the first Gulf War. While there he put his photojournalism skills to work and photographed the horrific events around him. Once home, he developed those images, I would soon discover why journalism would become such a big part of him. The one image that he took will always stick with me. I called it the "Man on Fire", he never named it. It was a image of a charred man with his burnt skin hanging from his bones as he was climbing out the window of his burnt car in escape. The image was taken in Death Valley, an area my Father was sent into clean up after we bombed it to hell. For years I saw this image, always returning to it. I felt this man's pain, the torment, the cry for help not only from him but from my Father as well. The photograph revealed so much with so little. My Father's images where seen by very few but they had such a profound impact on those who had seen them. I wanted to have that effect. I wanted to make people see what their actions can cause for those around them. With this needed to tell the world their story through images, I knew that I wanted to be a photographer. Knowing that I wanted to become a photographer or more so a photojournalist, I knew I needed to follow the stepping stones to get there. One said stepping stone was to get my degree from the Art Institute of Seattle. I moved from Michigan in the fall of 2007 to Seattle in order to cross that first bridge. Now that the foundation for my career is almost laid, I can focus more so on my future career goals. At the top of the list, and the list of most photographers out there, is to work for National Geographic. To get this process in movement, I will be applying for there photographic internship for the fall of 2010. Traveling the world to tell others stories would be the ideal job for me. Something I could wake up for everyday with out a second guess. One of my favorite photographers of all time is Art Wolfe. I find myself to be inspired by the stories he tells through his imagery. Thanks to his work and the work of others, people around the world now know of lost cultures and great traditions. To do something as grand as what Art Wolfe does would also be a great pleasure. With such grand aspirations to travel the world, to find new peoples, and tell stories; my personal life will be tomendusly effected. I have been in a relationship for almost five years and we are planning to get married in the near future. We would both like to have children and the thought of raising a small family is wonderful; but it will put strains on my career. I've always worried that I wouldn't be able to balance being a mother and a jet setter. My own mother was unable to hold a career and still be the mother she needed to be as I was growing up. I don't see globe trekking with a baby strapped to my back as such a fabulous thing. Now that I have laid my foundation to my career and have traveled those first stepping stones my next step is to discover where I would like for all of this to take place. I personal feel the need to move every year or so or I feel to stuck. ( I think this comes from moving every year as a child) I've always wanted to live in the Big Apple, New York City. However, being in a relationship means I have to think of my partner as well. He would like to live in Chicago or move to Europe. Europe my be a bit far for me but one never knows where the mighty wind might take you. With the future sneaking up around every conner, I plan to take the bull by the horns and run with it! My professional and personal life will only be as grand as I want it to be. Weather I take that one small step or tackle it by leaps and bounds, my goal of being a photographer is closer than ever and there is no slowing down now.