My Passion
My Passion
Amelia Dalesandro
Lies, deception, and dishonesty. Those were all that I had known throughout my childhood. My parents’ divorce took an immense toll on me. When that day came, it invoked a tsunami of emotional and mental trauma within me, creating a dark and helpless hole that I could not find my way out of.
In the beginning, I was so young and naïve, not understanding what my parents were doing to me. I was put in the middle, a powerless child, not knowing who to trust—until the day my father abandoned me. I was merely twelve years old and heading into the most hardship I have ever experienced. My father’s departure caused many emotions during this powerful event; I had the sensation of being unworthy and isolated. My entire life was seized from me, and I had to grow up too fast. Both at twelve years old and now I have thought about my father returning, and that day terrifies me more than anything else. The continuous anxiety of not knowing when or if he will return, the tremendous pain of never-ending thoughts in my head: “you are not good enough,” “don’t even try,” “this is pointless,” “just give up,” “no one will love you”—all because of him.
Despite all of these awful circumstances and feelings, something has sparked within me—a passionate feeling, almost like fire, when I discovered what I want to do for the rest of my life. That passion is photography and design. I fell in love with this lively and never-ending dream—the ability to use photography to express myself in such a unique way, to dedicate myself to the work, determined to make my goals a reality. My passion for photography came when I was a freshman in high school. I got my first camera for Christmas that year too. I then took many photography classes for the rest of my high school career. After that, my passion for photography kept growing. My grandpa also had a significant impact on me, because he too loved photography. Growing up with his influence made me fall in love with the beauty of capturing amazing moments like he once did. Like my father, he too had an impact on my passion for photography. It made me realize that I need to appreciate the beauty in this world. There is a remarkable amount of hate, anger, and sadness in this world. It would be a waste not to enjoy the wonderful things about this world.
At the end of the day, I believe losing my father was a blessing in disguise. Those events gave me an extraordinary amount of independence and maturity, and my independence has taught me many things over the years. With it, I have learned how to be personally responsible and make my own decisions with less reliance on others. My maturity has grown as well, and I am more aware of myself and others. I understand now that there is always room for growth, and I can take the insecurities my parents’ divorce gave me and use them to my advantage, to make myself stronger. It taught me about doing the right thing even if it is the hard and painful thing—and being calm and collected while doing it. In addition, to have an open mind. I have gained so much knowledge thanks to these painful circumstances, and I could never be the person I am today without them.