10 years ago…

Hello everyone!

This morning I found myself thinking a lot about time. I wake up every morning at around 4, and somehow it seems like it only takes 30 minutes to get to 6. Every day passes like this also, so fast yet slow at the same time. I put this perspective into years, and it seemed to hold up the same. How has it been 10 years since 2014?

In 2014, I graduated high school. I was 16. I began creating my art seriously, with more time to focus on just that. My work was so elementary then, but I was incredibly proud of it. It seems wild to me that I’ve come so far since then, especially in terms of my creativity and artistic ability. How did that time pass by so quickly?

On the flip side, time also feels like it’s passing by so slowly. So much has happened in the past 10 years, and I’m just now slowly getting to do things that I’ve always wanted to do. Sometimes, it feels like I’ve wasted 10 years of my life trying to figure everything out. Like I didn’t know who I was or where I was headed towards. But, with 10 years of experience, I feel like I have an idea of that direction.

Now that I have made my younger self so proud, where do I go next? Younger me wanted nothing but to take photos, create art, dress nice, and live in New York City. Of course, the last one was basically just a small-town childish dream, but in reality I have done all of those things. I have taken photos and had them featured in places I never thought possible for me (hello, Vogue.com!). I have created art and have had some small recognition for my work. I continue to dress nice, silly I know, but little 9th grade Téa would be obsessed with my vintage wardrobe. I have lived in New York City twice, loving mostly the reality of car-free living and the freedom to be myself.

From my 2014 works, you can see I had big dreams. I had ideas that were really out of my editing abilities at the time, but I was still proud of what I did create. I was just learning how to do a full composite image. I didn’t have the refined eye for scene matching, shadows, or color correcting. But I was still creating, and I am so proud of myself for continuing to do so.

So I ask again, where do I go next? I have a thousand and one ideas of where that is, but only another 10 years can tell. For now, all I can do is stick to my main goal, my one aspiration. To be a great artist.

-Tea