Free and Wild

Being at one with nature can feel like winning a prize. I've been drawn to water and those calming, moody, blue landscapes for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I would always draw the bluest oceans and the darkest skies, as I grew older I would wander the seaside cliffs looking for the best spot to sit and look over the water, to daydream.

When I was 22, I embarked on a roadtrip around mainland europe that would change my life. When I left, I was broken by health conditions that I believed had ruined my chances of ever living my dreams, but when I returned, after spending nearly a month at one with nature and all of it's beauties and mysteries, I was a strong, fiery young woman who was ready to fight for a new dream in spite of her illnesses.

This photograph was taken about half way through my trip, I was already feeling the change in myself and I was getting more confident and more creative with my photography.

We arrived at Lake Garda and it was pouring with rain, a late mid-spring afternoon with a humidity that turned my hair into one of Einstein's favourite do's. I tied a shower cap around my camera and half-ran through cobbled side streets, taking in as much of the flowery, old-town aesthetic that Garda offered.

A girl on a mission, I finally arrived at the lake, the rain had subsided for what must have been mere minutes, and there it was, my transformative moment.

Lake Garda, under the dark blue, rain filled sky had taken my breath away. It had thrown all of my jumbled, mis-matched thoughts into the corners of my brain until all that was left was the idea of a vast world of opportunity and hope. In that moment, my health didn't matter and I realised that sure, I might have to change my course a little, but all that was really standing my way was myself.

Lake Garda was vast, open and free, the nature around it was wild and roaming of its own accord, nothing to stop it, nothing to slow it down. There were ducks that were taking shelter under awnings outside of a cafe, resting on the floor next to human companions as they sipped their coffee and chowed down on salads and sandwiches. It was getting darker and more eerie as thunder rumbled and the water stirred only for a boat across the way. This was peace. This was what I had been searching for.

I switched on my camera and approached the jetty, something about the bare, desolate scene captured my attention. I aimed and shot, ducks quacking around my feet, warning me that the rain would surely return in a matter of moments, but it had stopped then, for me, for my inner peace.

I left Garda that day after a slow lunch under a cafe awning with rain water hammering at the coverings and ducks chirping softly under the tables with a sense of inner peace that I had not been able to achieve since my health worries started. I left Garda with a motivation I truly believed I had lost, and three years on, I've been working in my dream job for over a year and am moving a step up the ladder in a short time. I have love in my life that I never thought was possible and have achieved so many amazing things, ticked so many achievements and activites off of my bucket list, all in spite of my health and the complications it brings me.

I chose this image of Lake Garda because my experience there gave me the strength to become the woman I am today, it gave me inner peace and settled a turmoil that had been swirling in my head for a long time. The serenity and pristine clarity that a place like that brings you is second to none and I would urge you to visit your oceans, vast lakes and rivers for a clarity only water can give you.