Thank you:
For those of you that have known me either as a friend, family member, or close-up supporter over the last several years, you were there for the years I began to fall in love with journalism. From staying out until midnight and up until four in the morning to finish a high school broadcasting segment, through bringing in my forty pound desktop computer to high school in a Ziploc tote to "work faster", and there too when I won my first journalistic writing competition at 15. Both I and those around me have watched my love for photojournalism grow and take shape over these past four years. It's been an incredible journey to follow in my own head, and if my work today is half as exciting as the feeling I get from creating it, it's 1000X more worth it for me to make.
Although that work has changed so much from when I started at 14, I wouldn't change a single step, failure, or dream that fell through. Through each failure, rejection, and obstacle in my way, I've found my own way to get by and make my dreams a reality, just as all dreamers before me have. Moving on from my initial passions of video production and live-streaming, to my more recent obsession with photography, I have learned and grown so much more than I ever could have dreamed of, and I am incredibly grateful for that process, and all of the support I've had throughout it.
Today, in this article I wanted to take a moment to simply say thank you for your support of me and my dreams. Whether that support began a week ago, a month ago, or the day I was born, I know I wouldn't be where I am today with the opportunities I have around me if it were not for the support of each and every one of you. Thank you for sharing my photos, thank you for telling me what you like and encouraging me in my comment sections, and lastly, thank you for being here supporting me in the moments that it counts. Thank you!
Although that work has changed so much from when I started at 14, I wouldn't change a single step, failure, or dream that fell through. Through each failure, rejection, and obstacle in my way, I've found my own way to get by and make my dreams a reality, just as all dreamers before me have. Moving on from my initial passions of video production and live-streaming, to my more recent obsession with photography, I have learned and grown so much more than I ever could have dreamed of, and I am incredibly grateful for that process, and all of the support I've had throughout it.
Today, in this article I wanted to take a moment to simply say thank you for your support of me and my dreams. Whether that support began a week ago, a month ago, or the day I was born, I know I wouldn't be where I am today with the opportunities I have around me if it were not for the support of each and every one of you. Thank you for sharing my photos, thank you for telling me what you like and encouraging me in my comment sections, and lastly, thank you for being here supporting me in the moments that it counts. Thank you!
Three Dollars and Eight Cents:
For those of you that know what that snapshot you saw at the beginning of this article was, I know that you'll understand just how much that number means the first time you see it. But for the average person that has not chosen a career path with exponentially rising competition and very few career safeties when you're working independently, that is a snapshot of Google AdSense, the most common way independent content creators, podcasters, and artists make a living online. The whole process works by essentially allowing google to put small ads on portions of your website, and give you a percentage of profit based on how those ads perform in a few different categories, like how many times those ads are clicked, how many people see them per day, and how much time people spend on your website. It's an incredible tool for small content creators like me, without the ability to negotiate larger sponsorships, brand deals, or contracted work that larger media companies and content creators use to make money.
In short, I am incredibly grateful for AdSense as it allows me to make a profit from doing something I have loved for many many years. It's what allows me to take pictures, write stories, and travel the country full-time, and today, I felt a wave of confidence, pride, and optimism from my cut of three dollars, and eight cents. That figure is the largest amount of money The American Observer has made from stories, since its founding on September 28th, 2020. These three dollars are the result of hundreds of hours of practice, thousands of dollars of equipment, and eighteen years of dreaming that there was a way to make my dreams work, and in my head, it's the start of this beginning to work.
Although I've worked contracted jobs paying twenty-five dollars an hour doing video production, and a few months at McDonald's earning a much more consistent nine dollars an hour, these three dollars I've mentioned so many times already are the most important three dollars of my career, and I'm elated to tell you why.
At each job I've worked in the past, I was working for something I enjoyed only elements of, with the majority of my work being towards someone else's dream, and after only four years of working, I'm fortunate enough to be at a point where I can earn money doing only the things I enjoy doing. Every hour spent taking pictures, driving across the country, or writing these articles each night, are hours I'm grateful to give towards my dream. Although right now, at my age and my greenness in photo-journalism, my hourly wage would probably be a decimal, what I've learned from working those jobs I have in the past and working for myself the way I am now, it's not about the money, it's about what you're earning.
At my other jobs, I was incredibly fortunate to earn nearly four times my state's minimum wage, but what I was doing wasn't building a fulfilling career future for myself. It taught me some incredible skills I use to this day and helped me to afford things I wanted like fancy cameras and computer parts, but as I said before, there's more to work than just money. Today, although my earnings aren't high compared to even the fast-food jobs I've worked in the past, I'm working towards a dream I've had since I was a kid, I'm working towards a future where I can wake up every day and do something I love until I go to sleep and do it again the next day, and I'm working towards a future where I can say "I've made it", in more ways than one.
The moral of this rambling story is that success comes in many more ways than one, and if where you are right now is successful to you, that is absolutely all that matters. I encourage anyone reading this regardless of age, "success", or standpoint, to seek out your own success in a category you don't feel you've "made it" yet, and be proud of the process it takes to get you there. Whether it be a success in your health, your relationships, your job, or whatever other experiences in life motivate you, make a choice to be successful and make it happen. Thank you to all of you who have helped me to be successful by reading the work I write, and looking at the photos I take, and I hope you all appreciate your own success you already have. Thank you and have a great week! More stories from South Georgia are on the way soon.
In short, I am incredibly grateful for AdSense as it allows me to make a profit from doing something I have loved for many many years. It's what allows me to take pictures, write stories, and travel the country full-time, and today, I felt a wave of confidence, pride, and optimism from my cut of three dollars, and eight cents. That figure is the largest amount of money The American Observer has made from stories, since its founding on September 28th, 2020. These three dollars are the result of hundreds of hours of practice, thousands of dollars of equipment, and eighteen years of dreaming that there was a way to make my dreams work, and in my head, it's the start of this beginning to work.
Although I've worked contracted jobs paying twenty-five dollars an hour doing video production, and a few months at McDonald's earning a much more consistent nine dollars an hour, these three dollars I've mentioned so many times already are the most important three dollars of my career, and I'm elated to tell you why.
At each job I've worked in the past, I was working for something I enjoyed only elements of, with the majority of my work being towards someone else's dream, and after only four years of working, I'm fortunate enough to be at a point where I can earn money doing only the things I enjoy doing. Every hour spent taking pictures, driving across the country, or writing these articles each night, are hours I'm grateful to give towards my dream. Although right now, at my age and my greenness in photo-journalism, my hourly wage would probably be a decimal, what I've learned from working those jobs I have in the past and working for myself the way I am now, it's not about the money, it's about what you're earning.
At my other jobs, I was incredibly fortunate to earn nearly four times my state's minimum wage, but what I was doing wasn't building a fulfilling career future for myself. It taught me some incredible skills I use to this day and helped me to afford things I wanted like fancy cameras and computer parts, but as I said before, there's more to work than just money. Today, although my earnings aren't high compared to even the fast-food jobs I've worked in the past, I'm working towards a dream I've had since I was a kid, I'm working towards a future where I can wake up every day and do something I love until I go to sleep and do it again the next day, and I'm working towards a future where I can say "I've made it", in more ways than one.
The moral of this rambling story is that success comes in many more ways than one, and if where you are right now is successful to you, that is absolutely all that matters. I encourage anyone reading this regardless of age, "success", or standpoint, to seek out your own success in a category you don't feel you've "made it" yet, and be proud of the process it takes to get you there. Whether it be a success in your health, your relationships, your job, or whatever other experiences in life motivate you, make a choice to be successful and make it happen. Thank you to all of you who have helped me to be successful by reading the work I write, and looking at the photos I take, and I hope you all appreciate your own success you already have. Thank you and have a great week! More stories from South Georgia are on the way soon.
It wouldn't be an AO article without photos, would it?
Here are a few from 2020's trip to Leominster, MA.