The following eight photos are my favorite for a wide range of reasons. I will admit there is a sense of recency bias here, and many more photos were recent when I made this in mid-August 2024.
Me and my best friends from elementary school at graduation. We've been friends for over a decade, and the four of us have enjoyed the highs and supported each other through the lows. This moment captured the feeling of hitting a milestone together.
Me and one of my best friends at college hugging goodbye during Track Senior Night. Going into college, my biggest fear was not making good friends since I don't consider myself an extroverted person. This photo was proof that I was able to make amazing friends while being myself. Paraphrasing Winnie the Pooh, "How lucky are we to have people who make saying goodbye so hard."
LOL, I love this one. This photo shows me laughing while posing like a mugshot after getting a parking ticket. For context, as I was driving on an average Saturday, smoke started billowing out of my engine, and my car stopped moving on the side of a parking lot. I ultimately got a parking ticket for being outside of the lines. I was initially upset about getting a ticket, but I laughed it off. I'm generally proud of my ability to deal with these setbacks with humor.
These are the two balls I used to hit my first par and birdie in golf. I picked up golf in the Summer of 2024 to get the chance to spend more time with my dad. I'm very proud of these two, because I was able to put my mind towards improving at something I stank at.
I love cooking; I've been cooking since I was 10. This was the first steak I cooked for my family (along with the side dishes). It was delicious :)
I was lucky enough that my #1 Artist for the past three years, Martin Garrix, hosted a few shows in San Francisco. His music is connected to many fond memories in my life, and his euphoric style never fails to energize me in the morning.
This was an absolutely beautiful East Coast sunset in Baltimore. East Coast sunsets are different from those from home on the West Coast. This moment made me realize I made the right decision to choose a school across the country because it was a different environment than what was usual and comfortable for me.