It is not often that I write personal posts, but I figured no better time than now. Last week was my birthday, and birthdays are the perfect mile marker for reflecting back at how far you have come, and how far you want to go. This year really hit me as I sat back and took at look at all of my accomplishments, all of my reached goals, and all of the opportunities that have come my way these past few years. I am literally living my dream. If you were to ask my 10 year old self how I wished to see my life in 15+ years, this is what I would imagine.
In fourth grade, my grandparents took me on a trip. A few years prior, they took my older sister on a trip as well- to South Dakota to visit family. They took me to California. (Don’t tell my sister, but I think I won the better grandparent-vacation). I had never been on a plane before, let alone left my parents for over a week across the country. I was excited and nervous, but mostly exhilarated. We were to fly into San Diego, and drive up the coast to San Francisco. I remember landing in San Diego, jaw-dropped, and I knew, I just KNEW, that this land was speakin’ my language. The bare feet, the beach attire, the bikes on the boardwalk, the cloudless skies…..it was heaven on Earth. I wrote in my journal everyday, picking up these foreign plants and gluing them onto the pages. I even took home a small jar of sand. I knew I would be back.
And I was, 6 years later. I was 16 years old, and this time with my parents and sister as well. It was the night of 4th of July, and we went straight from the airport to Ocean Beach. I stood there with a smile on my face as we watched surfers head out to the ocean to sit on their boards and watch the fireworks go off over head from the pier. My parents said they knew after seeing me in California that they had lost me. Before heading back home to New York, I bought a keychain for my car keys….a small surfboard that said “San Diego” on it. A small reminder of my dream of living in California.
I still have that key chain. I stared at it everyday for 6 years until the day I finally DID move out to San Diego, 5 days after graduating college with my art degree, a small reminder of something that I wanted for MYSELF. Remember those silly questions you get asked when you are young; “What do you want to be when you grow up??”. C’mon,….like any 5 year old actually KNOWS what they want to be, right? Well my answer was always the same- an “Artist”. What does that even MEAN!? Was I going to be a professional doodler? All I knew is that I loved to create. I was determined to make a living out of it some way or another.
And here I am, a professional photographer in California. 
Gene Gerber - Hey Professional Photographer, Belated Happy Birthday.I remember that trip and how you wanted us to stop at every beach so that you could take your shoes off and go wading. Then when you were served your first real Mexican taco, you would not eat it because it didn’t taste like the ones from Taco Bell. What a picky eater you were. Along the way on the trip we stopped to visit friends and family from the old days when our family lived in California and your mother and uncles were children. To your annoyance almost everyone exclaimed on first seeing you, “She looks just like Viv!” If this trip was a revelation, and if you are happy doing what you do, what could be better? I love the key chain! But I love you more.
Your Mia