Leaving Oklahoma...
Next week I'm moving out of Oklahoma for the first time in my life. Moving to a city I've always dreamed of exploring further, New York City. I decided earlier this year it was the time for me to give it a shot. It took a lot of work to plan for it and get the job I wanted there. Its finally happening.
This will be a big change and I feel like I'm ready for it. I don't know exactly what will happen there, but I have a good feeling about it. I've grown to appreciate Oklahoma City over the past 4 years. I've met many people here I will miss, but this is the time for me to move on. I'm getting rid of a lot of my stuff to make an easier move and I know I won't have as much space there anyway. I'm ready to make a lot of new friends in New York and see what will happen for me there. I will be busy at the new job getting up to speed starting after labor day. Hopefully I'll have some free time on the weekends to start getting into some new photography projects in the near future, but I know the job will be taking up a lot of my time especially at first. I'm not exactly sure what part of the city I will be living in yet, but I will have a few weeks once I get there to figure that out.
When I was there a few weeks ago I mainly went for the interviews which was gruelling. I was going all around Manhattan in 100 degree heat in a suit, trying to make the best impression possible. I did get a chance to visit the Internation Center of Photography on the weekend and was very inspired by one exhibit in particular. It was the first time I saw the work of Atta Kim. The prints were massive. They were also back-lit which really helped them stand out. I read afterwards that Kim had an engineering degree and didn't start photographing actively until later in his life. It reminded me of what I have gone through so far. I don't know how far I will go with the photography or if I may want to move more into video or cinematography, but it was really inspiring. Possibly someday I could be at that level. I hope to meet Mr. Kim sometime in the next few years, I read he was originally from Korea but now lives in New York. Seeing his work and reading his story also reminded me that there is no rush. Everything will happen when its supposed to.
Now what is to happen for me is to move to the big city and meet all the people I can and improve myself and find myself more than I ever have before. Outside of that who knows what the future will bring.