Addie's Blogger Photo Session in Chicago, IL

I HAVE ADDIE TO THANK FOR MY LOVE OF PHOTOGRAPHY. In my sophomore year of high school, Addie and I were at a local book store, running around with our other friends because we had nothing better to do on a Friday night at fifteen years old. Addie was always documenting these little events, consistent in carrying around her little SLR everywhere she went, and I remember that friday night at the book store she showed me how to take photos with the macro setting on the canon powershot. I was hooked on the clarity and the beauty in taking photos of smaller subjects with such detail. From then on, I'd steal my dad's SLR and take photos of anything and everything, immediately running to my computer and editing all of them in photoshop. I knew nothing technical, and the photos weren't "good" by my standards now, but that didn't matter. The innocence and exhilaration in exploring photography was so exciting to me, and I have Addie to thank for introducing me to an art form that has changed my life.

As time went on, Addie's interests changed - in high school Addie began focusing more of her attention on clean eating and blogging. She developed her blog Chickpea in the City while balancing various social media platforms, all while moving to Chicago to begin college. Addie's work ethic is not to go unnoticed - she's one of the most dedicated and knowledgeable people I know. I realize, though, that her role as a social media influencer and blogger is just one small percentage of who she is in my life. We've been friends for seven years. We've seen each other at our worst, talked every single day of our lives, and through that we've grown together. This collaboration is important to me in many ways, primarily in the fact that it's living proof that we've grown into the people we are both intended to be, and we've done it all together.