Chapter 17
The overwhelming success of the portrait series brought an incredible,
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to my doorstep.
A prestigious,
international arts foundation offered me a generous,
fully-funded grant,
allowing me to travel across Europe for three entire months.
The purpose of the expedition was to expand my portrait series,
capturing the diverse,
resilient faces of older women across different,
vibrant cultures.
I packed my heavy,
padded camera bags with meticulous,
careful precision,
and boarded a long,
overnight flight to Rome.
The ancient,
cobbled streets of Italy were a chaotic,
beautiful sensory overload,
filled with the rich,
heady scents of fresh espresso,
and the loud,
musical cadence of the Italian language.
I photographed grandmothers making pasta by hand,
their flour-dusted fingers moving with practiced,
rhythmic speed,
and their eyes sparkling with warm,
generational wisdom.
I traveled to the rolling,
sun-drenched hills of Tuscany,
capturing the stark,
dramatic shadows of the olive groves,
and the proud,
weathered faces of the women who worked the fertile land.
Halfway through my incredible,
exhausting journey,
Elias flew across the Atlantic to join me in Paris,
surprising me at a small,
charming sidewalk cafe.
I leaped out of my woven,
rattan chair,
knocking over my cup of bitter,
black coffee,
and threw my arms tightly around his neck.
We spent two magical,
unforgettable weeks exploring the romantic,
historic city together.
We wandered through the vast,
echoing halls of the Louvre,
ate warm,
buttery croissants on the steps of Montmartre,
and kissed under the glittering,
golden lights of the Eiffel Tower.
He carried my heavy tripod without a single,
solitary complaint,
and he acted as my charming,
makeshift translator when my broken French failed me.
Standing on a bridge over the dark,
flowing Seine river,
watching the boats glide smoothly through the water,
I realized how drastically,
fundamentally my life had changed.
I was no longer a scared,
sheltered girl from Boston,
trapped in a tiny,
stifling box of familial expectations.
I was a global,
independent citizen,
a successful,
respected artist,
and a woman who was deeply,
unconditionally loved.
My camera had been my initial,
desperate lifeline,
but it had ultimately become my passport to the entire,
magnificent world.
I breathed in the cool,
European night air,
May you like
and I felt a fierce,
burning gratitude for every single obstacle I had ever faced.
