2011–looking back
2011 was a hell of a year for all of us. I didn’t leave the country last year, but at times I felt like I might as well be in a foreign land. In 2011 I took photographs in Colorado, California, Minnesota and New York. I interned for the Minneapolis Star Tribune where I learned how to sustain 50+ hour weeks, I made a good friend, I learned about “Minnesota nice” and what happens when a government shuts down. I covered the aftermath of a horrific fire that has stayed with me since. I found a mentor in a reporter, she showed me how to be a journalist, she showed me about persistence and the importance of walking the streets and how to exhaust every possible resource and then how to do it all over again. I found out what it feels like to work for one of my heroes.
Throughout the year I learned that school is something worth finishing and homework is really hard to commit to when you’ve already found your calling. I also learned that homework doesn’t do itself, no matter how silly it may seem. I learned that there’s always more to learn and there’s always a new inspirational teacher I have yet to meet who I have yet to be schooled by.
I learned that (for me) freelancing is more about going into debt than making money, but that it’s worth it, because at the end of the day I’m doing what I love. In the fall I learned that they weren’t kidding when they said you won’t get any sleep at Eddie Adams and that it will change your life.
I learned that you never know what’s going to happen at an Occupy Denver protest, so bring water and food, always. I learned how to stay calm when in the middle of a huge crowd of people who are anything but calm. I learned how to try to avoid getting arrested. I learned that even if you do everything you have learned to prepare yourself, something can always happen that you weren’t prepared for. In 2011 I was reminded how important my family and friends are to me. I learned what it feels like to graduate from College after five years of working at it.
These are some of my favorite photographs from 2011. I did not include my Occupy Denver photographs in here because I kind of see them as their own category. You can see them on my website: www.leahmillis.com
I predict more craziness for 2012. Here’s to that.
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