I have always held a strong interest in art. I don't remember exactly when it began, but my grandma definitely sustained my interest. As a child, she would frequently bring my sisters and me to museums and art shows and always encourage us to create art. An artist herself, she had an art studio next to her house, filled to the brim with an assortment of paints, piles of canvases, endless jars of paintbrushes, and enormous blocks of clay. I have fond memories of spending weekends at her house creating art. Like most other art forms, I have been interested in photography for a while. But it wasn't until my mom bought me a camera a few years ago that I fully immersed myself in that art. As a kid, although my mom encouraged us to be creative, she suggested that we not choose a career in the arts when we grew older due to financial matters. But, when I showed such a great love for photography, she fully supported my decision to pursue it in college. Maybe it's because it is one of the more financially stable art professions, but I think the main reason for her support is how talented I am, how much I love it, and her past experience. I first heard of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design from my mom as she attended there, initially majoring in Photography before taking some time off and returning with a focus on Advertising. She helped me put together my portfolio, went on the school's tour with me, and she tells me stories from college all the time. I think this newfound connection with my mom has been really helpful to my relationship with her. When it came time for my sisters and me to make a decision on what college we are going to, MCAD was my top choice. However, I was apprehensive about it due to the cost, as were my sisters about their top school. It ended up that, due to financial issues, my sisters can't attend their top school, and that breaks my heart. I am lucky enough to plan on going to my top school, but it is going to be a difficult ride. My parents struggle each day thinking about how they are going to pay for the college of their triplet daughters all at the same time while still being able to live and save for retirement, and the government wasn't any help. I have been saving all the money that I have been making from my photography business, which gives me hope. But in the end, I don't care about the money—all I wish to do is continue practicing what I love so dearly and further my learning in the process. I am so very excited for college, and although the finances are a huge weight that constantly occupies the back of my mind, I am not letting it prevent me from having a good time.

I have always had an interest in art. My grandmother would bring my sisters and me to museums in Minneapolis from a young age, and my mom would encourage us to express our creativity through painting and drawing. Over the summer, we would attend a day camp consisting of pottery, jewelry making, and other arts, and even attended a theater camp. My first real introduction to digital arts was when I received a small camera to use on a walk around the nature preserve behind our house as a toddler, and I fell in love with the art of composition and photography. Fast-forward to a few years ago, and I received my first "real" camera as a birthday gift. My mom encouraged me to use it to take photos of us at equestrian competitions, a sport that my mom had also introduced to me. Although the camera was for both my twin sisters and me, I was the most interested so I took over. Almost instantly, I was enamored with photography even more than my young self was. At first, I was simply focused on getting the shot at the correct time and with the correct exposure, but as I grew as a photographer, I became more interested in the artistic aspect of it. I began taking a Digital Photography class at my school, and then my grandma, whom I mentioned earlier, took my sisters and me on a trip to Iceland. I brought my camera, of course, and photographed my way through Rejkyavik, capturing interesting compositions, gorgeous architecture, urban city life, and everything in between. My passion for photography persisted through the remaining school year and the summer, when I got back to capturing equestrian competitions, this time charging for my beloved photographs. I loved it so much that I didn't care about the money, but it was an added bonus to my college fund. Entering my senior year of high school, I decided to take a Dark Room Photography class which satisfied my desire for learning art history and the history of photography, in addition to the science behind photography. November rolled around and I was set on doing something art-related after high school. I am choosing to pursue an education in the arts, specifically photography, because I am a creative person who loves to learn about art, admire art, and create art. My mother had attended Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and my grandma had as well for a short time, so I thought it was a rite of passage to apply there. When my mother and I took a tour of the campus, I fell even more in love with the school. It checked all the boxes—small, had a photography major, in the Twin Cities, and I had prior knowledge of it. Not only that but going to an art school would mean that I can be surrounded by people with the same amount of creativity and similar interests as me. I cannot see myself doing anything other than majoring in photography; it's not only my job but my passion. A type of photography that really interests me is documentary photography. It's all around us, and can really spark social change. One example is Lewis Hine's documentation of child workers, sparking the child labor laws that now allow me to attend school. I learned about him and his photos in both my history class and my Dark Room Photography class, and he really inspires me to want to go out into the world and find the beauty in the horrible through my camera lens.

I have lived my whole entire life around dogs. I can't imagine living without them. My parents started the tradition of having a Doberman as a pet dog before I was born, and I still carry it on to this day. I have fond memories of laying next to our Doberman Roman as a toddler, playing with him in the grass, and dressing him up in headbands and hair ties. He was an incredible dog and was so very kind to children. We ended up getting another Doberman to keep him company as we were at school more often. Unfortunately, Roman passed away from a heart attack right before our eyes. It was tough on all of us, the new dog Iggy included. But we loved Iggy just as much as Roman. As we grew up, so did he. Eventually, he seemed lonesome with us going into middle school and our parents working more often, so we adopted a rescue American Pitbull Terrier named Luna. Luna is the sweetest dog I have ever met. Her cuteness never fails to put a smile on my face. She loves to snuggle up with her humans, and play around with Iggy. But another unfortunate loss occurred, this time in 2020 when Iggy suffered a twisted intestine and had to be put down. We all cried our eyes out at the veterinarian late that night as we said our goodbyes. Luna seemed the saddest about it, though. She was noticeably depressed: not hanging around us as much, laying in Iggy's old bed, and simply not herself. We couldn't stand seeing her that way anymore, so two weeks after Iggy left us, we rescued a new Doberman named Ozzie. He has alopecia, thyroid issues, and vitiligo of some sort, but that's what makes him special. He has such a huge heart, just like Luna. These dogs have had such a huge impact on our lives. They are our companions. They bring us joy, comfort, and a friend when we need it. I remember countless times when I was feeling down, laying on my bed in my room, when suddenly I hear Ozzie walking up the stairs and into my hallway. He then pushes his nose through the crack in my door and waltzes into my room, going up to me on my bed and smothering me with nose kisses. Or when Luna climbs into bed with us, taking up most of the mattress but keeping us warm as well. All the dogs we have owned have shown me that sometimes you just need a friend around to feel so much better. Also, that things can end abruptly but you must continue on.

When creating the portfolio I submitted, I was looking for photographs to express a specific mood. I looked and looked through my best shots, and found a few that I particularly like. All of them I believe show emotions such as sadness, dismay, and discomfort. First, I included a moody photograph of a blue bathroom. The way the light is hitting the white sink in the dark and quite literally blue room, in my opinion, plants feelings of despair and sorrow. While the room is literally blue, the photograph's colors and lighting make the viewer feel a bit 'blue' as well. My second photograph is a self-portrait. I chose this because it carries along the theme of blue in my eye, and the look on my face is that of discomfort and concern, another strong emotion sometimes associated with sadness. As you can see, my iris is not in focus, and that was in order to show the feeling of situations being skimmed over and not paid attention to, in which people don't want to look into the eyes of someone who's grieving or experiencing a difficult situation. The third image I chose was one that I took in Iceland. Rain is mostly associated with sadness as well, and I really loved the way the raindrops fell on this window outside of a hotel in Reykjavik. The image overall is a bit miserable with underlying hints of hope possibly. The fourth and final photograph I chose was a still life of some purple tulips and an open book. I chose this because of the moody lighting similar to the blue bathroom photo. In addition to this, tulips can symbolize deep love, so I like to think that someone had just experienced heartbreak since they are beginning to wilt. Maybe someone was reading a book and admiring some flowers from a lover, but suddenly was notified that their significant other had passed away and they rushed out, leaving the book and ambient lighting in its place. In conclusion, the four photos I chose convey emotions of sadness, discomfort, misery, and grief. Yet, the hints of bright light in each photo, such as that on the sink, on my face, in the window, and the small amount on the tulips, signifies hope and that things will turn out alright in the end.