Listen, moving out to a different country by yourself is NOT for the weak.
When I started my first year of University, my life underwent such changes that I now view it in terms of “Before” and “After”. There exists a Before and an After I got the keys to my first flat, Before and After teary-eyed goodbyes in airports gained a familiar taste (and yet, they never get easier) or Before and After I first stepped foot in a lecture hall, not knowing what to expect from this widely-acclaimed, but unfamiliar education system.
“Before” and “After” gave birth to “Here” and “There”, and somewhere along the line I started feeling like I led a double life. There is a version of me that exists in my family’s eyes – in my hometown, tucked away between children’s fantasy books and overheard arguments. And then there is a version of me I have been slowly both discovering and creating day by day in this scary, yet exciting After.
Uni life came marching straight at me with dozens of exciting opportunities, to which I only needed the courage to say “yes”. One of these has been the Photography Society here at Stirling. Now, my relationship with photography started years ago, but I never quite dared to commit. And yet, when I came here, I was determined to overcome my crippling perfectionism and embrace this form of art. Safe to say, it was worth it.
Photography became a way to push myself and a tool for self-discovery. With each meeting, each week, I began asking myself all sorts of questions – “What do I enjoy taking pictures of? What stories do I want to tell? What do I want to show to others and say ‘LOOK! LOOK! This is important! And this is important to me, because –’?”. So, it was the time to look both through the lens and within myself to answer these questions.
I soon realised that what drives my passion is a boundless desire to preserve the present. That I tend to take pictures of moments I wish could last forever. Moments in which I could lose myself for hours or even live forever. I have always been a “glass-half-full” type of person, so I try to turn to the beauty of life as much as I can, in an attempt to freeze it all in a still frame. I imagine it as if I were painting with seconds – capturing what an instant looks like one place at a time, one subject at a time. Of course, photography is more than that, it is also a very important political and social weapon. But my overtly nostalgic soul inclines me towards capturing life’s beautiful side. For now, at least.
There is more to the Photography & Videography Society here at the University of Stirling. I could talk about the friends that I’ve made, the memorable nights out or how meeting certain people helped me grow, both as a person and a photographer. However, these are all topics for another day.
I’ll keep working on my photography. I’ll keep trying to find the best ways to preserve joyful moments. Hopefully, I’ll even set up a photography Instagram account soon, so keep an eye out for that!
The Photography & Videography Society will also keep being this wonderful creative community and safe space for fellow photography nerds. On top of that, it constantly offers dozens of amazing opportunities to improve your work or simply to have fun with friends. So, if there are any students at the University of Stirling reading these lines right now, we hope to see you at our next meeting (Monday, 6:30 pm, 2V1)! Here’s the Photography Society Instagram for a sneak peak or you can read about our annual exhibition here.
Featured image: Alexandra Cristea