When envisioning a future for myself, I don’t see a cubicle or paper bag lunches full of leftovers from the night before. I do not see myself working 40 plus hours a week with no genuine payoff. I can’t see the future as staying in one place for an extended period of time; I imagine the complete opposite.  I picture wide open spaces, a camera in hand, only the essentials necessary to life, and going from place to place when I please. Of course, I will have to live by some deadlines (doesn’t everyone?), but overall, I will be my own boss.

For a freelance photojournalist, the phrase “a picture’s worth a thousand words” means the whole world. Not all photojournalists need degrees and when they don’t have them, their portfolio is the hull of their career. The pictures a photographer captures speak wonders without a degree to speak of their success in college. Having a versatile portfolio that showcases every skill within photography one possesses is essential to having a successful career and making sure companies will take their work into consideration, and maybe even eventually publish it. This is a little risky to just throw your whole life into, but the payoff of discovering new cultures and living out new experiences is worth it.

A good first step when going into this field is having the right gear. Of course a camera is seen as the most essential item in this process, but the main thing needed is a genuine interest in people and their culture. A big problem within American society is being very close-minded to everything around us and just not caring about what’s going on with others and, essentially, seeing ourselves as the center of the universe. Having a unique perspective with eyes wide open to the world is a big key to successfully getting along with cultures other than your own.

Other than a camera and an open mind, the only thing you need for this adventure is a way to get where you’re going, because there is beauty everywhere.