About beginnings, changes and lessons.

October 2015 – January 2016

These are just a bunch of random photos and self-portraits documenting my first months in Melbourne. Some (very) hard months, emotionally intense.

It’s been weird to look at some of these photos, and painful. Because looking at them made me feel for a second the way I was feeling back then. And this is one of the reasons I love photography. Even if it hurts, it makes me see what a long way I’ve come to feel like myself again. Because I was feeling lost when I first got here. Beginnings can be very tough especially when you’re moving to a new city or country. It’s difficult to find your place and everything is new, no friends. It takes time but after a while, it gets better, and it is wonderful when you look back.

I believe that one of the things that define you as a person is how you rise after falling. You can learn a lot from bad experiences. It is inevitable to cross paths in life with mean people from time to time, and some will manage to hurt you. But in reality, at least for me, I feel they made me stronger. And it helps me appreciate the beautiful human beings I meet in life.

So much has changed since these pictures were taken. Back then I was unhappy with my situation and I was certain that I wanted to go back to Europe after one year (I didn’t even know if I wanted to stay the entire year). And now that the year is coming to an end, I feel completely different about it. I’m happy and thankful for being here. My energy is so different. Just a few days ago I got my confirmation after applying for a second-year visa and I’m excited. I’m staying.

Time puts things in the right perspective.

***

There is an old Cherokee story. It’s about a man who tells his grandson that there is a fight going on inside all of us, between two wolves. One wolf represents everything good (love, peace, kindness, forgiveness, compassion…). The other wolf is everything bad (anger, resentment, regret, hate,..).
The son thinks about it and asks the grandfather “which wolf will eventually win?”
The grandfather replies, “the one you feed.”