Week 1: My Voice

My name is Melisa, all my life everyone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. When I was in high school they would ask what do you want to do with your life, and I couldn't answer because honestly I didn't know what I wanted to do. After high school I went straight to working, and didn't really think about what to do with my life. After about two years my parents talked me into going to cosmetology school. At first I loved it, I got to work with my hands and meet new people but I knew that it wasn't something I was passionate about. After I graduated I didn't do the exam to get my license.

I started working at this photo studio and I fell in love with it, it wasn't a normal photo studio. We dressed customers up and gave them props, then had to position them. It was so fun to me being able to interact with customers and give them memories to take home with them. That's why I feel so passionate about it, I want to be there when someone's daughter is getting married. The look on the grooms face when he first sees his bride walking towards him or when the bride has the dance with her father. Or in a studio taking pictures of a new born or a picture with kids and their parents together.

Having the same customers coming year after year taking photos of their kids watching them grow up. When someone is graduating and want to take photos in there cap and gown. I want to be able to take those photos and see the look of happiness from people. So I am a photographer, I want to open a photo studio and also take photos of weddings or anniversaries. My company is going to be run with me and my brother. Before I open a photo studio I want to take photos for magazines, I think that would be fun and interesting. I want to travel maybe do an Internship for a magazine somewhere.

I grew up normal in California with my family, we moved to Las Vegas about 9 years ago. Throughout my life my father always had a camera or a video camera with him, he would tell me that I would always take them and play with them around the house.

I remember him yelling at me telling me to put them away or to put them down, and of course since I never really listened to him I kept on playing with them. He also didn’t really mind me messing with it because he knew I always took care of them. I guess photography has always been in my life I just never realized I loved it so much until I was working at that photo studio. Life has a weird way of showing you certain things, you never really know what is in store for you. My brother who passed away last year would always tell me, “Mel I know you will find something you love doing, don’t give up and when you do find it I know you’ll be great at it. You’re a hard headed smart loving women and I know you will make it.”  So to honor him I know I will make it and be great at it, there really isn’t any other options.