An Interesting Year to Say the Least....


2023 has been such an interesting year for me, as there have been so many changes that have occurred not only in the past 6 months but the entire year! Back in November of 2022, I took over the YMCA of Central New Mexico's Childcare Program at the ripe age of 22, becoming probably the youngest Director of School-Aged Childcare in the YMCA's history. Working countless hours throughout the week to ensure that programs were running properly, ensuring staff had proper supplies, and so much more. And then came summer, one of the most stressful times for most childcare programs, losing one of the sites that we had normally maintained every year, having to find a new site with over 60 kids per site, totalled around 1,000 families that I was helping throughout the summer. The biggest accomplishment was earning over $250,000 through our programming. Overworked and tired, I had decided to leave the YMCA when our summer programming was ending after nearly 7 years with the YMCA, coming up from a counselor in training to the Director of School-Aged Childcare.

Black and white photo of a visitor admiring the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero viewing platform.
The Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris at sunset with tourists gathering below.
Black and white view of the Eiffel Tower framed by tree branches and iron fence.
An elegant curved staircase with ornate balustrade in a historic building interior.
A dramatic classical marble statue with flowing drapery photographed from below.
A modern train arrives at an urban transit station with high-rise buildings in the background.
Close-up black and white image of bicycle handlebars parked in a bike rack.
Vintage illuminated theater marquee with string lights in Paris.
Aerial view of railway tracks cutting through dense urban architecture in Paris.
Iconic Eiffel Tower standing tall against a cloudy Parisian sky with city buildings in the background.
Canal view in Amsterdam with parked boats and cars along a tree-lined street.

The Trip of a Lifetime


After leaving my job, I decided to take a trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands and Paris, France. This was a trip I was looking forward to as this was my first time traveling to a foreign country all by myself as well as one of the countries that do not necessarily speak fluent English which was a learning curve to say the least. After getting to the airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico, there was a little chaos as the original flight to Dallas, Texas was already delayed, thus changing plans already, meaning I got to take a trip to London Heathrow along the way.


Arriving into Amsterdam was something that I couldn't of explained, after nearly 24 hours of being awake to not miss a single flight, I was in Amsterdam, I was in another country. It was truly an amazing feeling and something that I had done all by myself. Alone in a foreign country with a basic idea of what I wanted to do but no real set goals. Navigating around Centraal Amsterdam was amazing as the canals were always filled with boats and tourists and the vast amount of bikes that were in the city center was amazing. I have never seen anything that remarkable. Finishing off Amsterdam with a new tattoo, amazing photos and an experience like no other.


Following Amsterdam, I headed down to Paris, France via train as this was actually the more affordable route but also the most crowded place that I had been sofar. Navigating the train station was incredible as they had trains headed all over the European Union! After a long 3 hour journey, I was in France, a place I was nearly a decade ago. The first place I headed to was the Eiffel Tower as I wanted to get some shots while it wasn't too crazy as it was the middle of the day yet it was full of people, vendors, and those who wanted to venture to the top. As someone who doesn't like heights, this did not appeal to me.


The next day was the Louvre as this is somewhere I really wanted to visit again, as this was something that interested me not only when I had previously visted but now as a photographer, an artist. I think it was something that I had to take a long time to really take in, I was there for about 6 hours, taking everything in, viewing the masters of portraiture, sculpting, and more. This was only a single wing of the Louvre and it was an experience like no other. Everyone goes for the Mona Lisa, I decided to go for everything else. Seeing Rembrandts in person as well as paintings that were from the ceiling to the floor, every paint stroke, coming to life. It was truly amazing. The grand staircases were also something that I came to see while in the Louvre and turned out to be an amazing image as well.


Monteparnasse Tower was the following day, as I wanted to capture this as sunset (which was at 9:30pm), and it gave a gorgeous overview of the city of Paris. One of my favorite images that I captured along this journey was the various train rails that they had offered, just reaching back as far as the eye could see. It was an amazing time up nearly 56 floors.


After nearly two weeks of being away, it was time to go back to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Those two weeks were one of the best times that I had throughout this entire year. Calling me back time and time after leaving such beautiful countries.