Letter to a Professor

A couple days ago I was greeted with a surprise in my inbox. An email from one of my favorite college professors. A college professor who changed my life in so many ways and was the first to see passion for photography. His email was simple and short. Hey, I heard from a few professors here at Whittier College you're ‘making pretty' with photos…thought you were in law school. How's life? Or something like that.

I didn't know how to respond at first. I asked this professor for a letter of recommendation when I applied for law school (and proferred one that made me look like I warmed, fed, and clothed the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa, and also happened to be the lost love-child of Albert Einstein) and I didn't have the decency to let him know I left law school three and a half years ago. I felt terribly because Professor Johnston left a profound impact on my life. And he was one of many. I loved my college experience and I owe my professors everything but my right pinky toe.

I'm blogging my response to his email because it's my story summed up in two paragraphs. It's a snippet of who I am and I hope it explains my story in a way that makes others understand how thankful I am to be where I am today.

To: sal johnston
From: Jasmine Star
Date: 12/02/08
Subject: Hey!

oh my lord. i almost didn't believe it was you. in my inbox. no flippin' way.
i think of you at least two or three times a week. i think my college experience with nothing but fondness and joy…but i have you to thank because you instilled in me what would later become the thing that changed my life the most: a camera. the first time i fell in love with a camera was in your Sociology Through Photography Jan Term class. i developed my own film, spent weekends in the lab with my boyfriend (who is now my amazing husband!), and later begged for a professional film camera. that professional camera (i usually get what i want…kidding!) documented my life through getting into the nation's top law schools, later deciding to attend UCLA Law for the full scholarship, and, ultimately, my departure from law school due to my mother's relapse with cancer. i walked away from law school (with every intention of returning) depressed, overwhelmed, and unhappy. i hated school, but hated my phase in life more. my mother was dying, i lived a miserable life alone in West LA, and i was sad. after taking a medical leave, i moved home to be with my mother. a couple months later, life started looking up. my boyfriend of eight years proposed and we planned a small wedding in hawaii. then another miracle happened (because, really, who would have ever wanted to MARRY ME?!): my mother's cancer went into remission. two miracles in just a few months. and, then…then life became a sweet fruit i couldn't get enough of. i wanted to stuff my face the same way a bulimic might on a binge. life had been so sad–had almost broken the person i was–and then it just changed. seven months later, my mother walked me down the aisle at my wedding. i, of course, sobbed the entire way.
then it came time to go back to law school. and i was seriously depressed again. the night before i had to make my declaration to return, i wept into my plate of pasta. it was then when my husband asked what i wanted to do with my life. and, for the first time ever, i said i wanted to be a wedding photographer. i wanted to do the same thing our wedding photographer did for us. he documented the happiest day of our lives…and a miracle. my mother wasn't supposed to be with me on my wedding day, but she was. and my wedding photographer documented it all. I WANTED TO DO THE SAME THING. my husband thought i was crazy. literally. but he said something i'll never forget: I'd rather see you fail at something you love, than succeed at something you hate. and with that, I quit law school.
two years later, i have a successful photography business, just completed a national photography tour, and–beyond all else–I'm happy. i live with my husband (JD) and my fabulous dog, Polo, in Orange County. life is a sweet fruit. but i'm no longer stuffing my face like the bulimic of yesteryear…rather, i'm taking small bites and relishing it all. i'm like a french woman with wine and cheese! 🙂
i'd love to grab lunch or dinner when you have time. it'd be my pleasure. you know…you're the person who exposed me to Thai food (Chan Dara, baby!), and i pretty much owe you my life for that! i seriously eat Thai like EVERY DAY…or something like that! 🙂 i'd love to talk to anyone and everyone about my pursuit of happiness because i firmly believe it's within everyone's reach. Whittier College taught me this. Cliche, right? Tell the professor what he wants to hear! 😉 No, but, really. I owe so much of who I am to professors who took the time to mold me, challenge me, and force me to think on my own. You, Orozco, Decker…and SO MANY OTHERS. i owe y'all my life. really and truly.
so…when can we meet?
fondly,
jasmine*