welcome to the skiBLOG
i felt it would be appropriate to use my first blog post to share the story behind what got me into photography and ultimately led to the exodus from my previous self.
during my freshman year of high school in phoenix, arizona, i played my first year of tackle football. mom & pops wanted to keep me safe and only allowed me to play in flag football leagues growing up. when it came time to put the pads on, i was excited. i played well throughout my first season and i can vividly remember one game where i ran for three touchdowns, one of which was a 96-yard run. it was merely freshman football, but i appreciate those moments.
as the season wrapped up, i received the most improved player award, which, i mean let’s be real, is usually a laughable award but i think the award comes from the fact that i picked up the techniques of tackle football significantly quickly having never played before but, that could just be me saving myself from embarrassment.
the season ended near thanksgiving time which meant one thing: turkey bowl season. for those who may not know, turkey bowls are flag football tournaments that are played at a local park. sometimes the game is administered by the local park’s sports committee, as was the one i was entering. having finished my first season of tackle football, i knew this would be a breeze and carried myself as such.
the games flew by and my team kept winning, but what happened next would change my life. it was the final game and my team was losing by a touchdown in the last seconds of the game. we decided to do a hail mary and just throw one up, praying someone on our team would catch it. we ran the play and i got behind the defender. we were both tracking the ball in the air and as it got closer, i jumped up behind him and both of us got a hold of the ball as we came tumbling down to the ground. i can’t recall if i ended up catching the ball for a touchdown, but i do remember trying to stand up and simply not being able to. i remember my pops running over to see if i was okay and yelling for help. i remember my mom running over screaming, “is he okay?! is he okay?!” i remember rolling over and looking at my leg and seeing it broken.
a compound fracture playing flag football is what would ultimately lead me to photography. following the freak accident, i spent the next week in the hospital and endured multiple surgeries to realign and stabilize my leg. i was so high off morphine the entire time that my memory of that week is spotty, at best. i recall my homies coming to visit me, the presence of my pastor praying over me, and my parents working out of the hospital, making sure that i was being taken care of. the following months would be transformative as i had to, for the first time in my life, hold, observe, and wrestle with the idea that i may never play sports again. but with that came new life.
as i moped around the house feeling bad for myself, it was the pick-yourself-up drive of my momma and the consistent, unwavering support of my dad that led me to look for things to do while i recovered. for christmas, my parents got me my first camera, a nikon coolpix l120. this camera would become my best friend while i rehabbed my leg. i always knew i wanted to be back out there on the field, so i anticipated this camera was going to be temporary. little did i know, i would fall in love.
i’m not sure what clicked for me. maybe it was the process of taking a photo, editing it to my perceived perfection, and delivering it to whomever. maybe it was the filling of the large, purpose-sized void that was created by my injury. as i write this nearly a decade later, i truly don’t know what exactly transformed my casual interest into a deep passion, but i just love working a camera and can’t see myself not doing so.
i’m grateful you’ve read to the end. i really am praying that 2021 is, for you, a year of using the lessons learned from 2020 and before to transform yourself in beautiful ways you never thought possible. if i could leave you with an idea before you go about your day, it would be this: my success is your success which is society’s success. we’re all in this together.
welcome to skisnaps in 2021.