Behind the Lens of Depression with Jenae Hirsch
Studying Abroad
The aspiring actress that is Jenae Hirsch, finds herself also coping through a more discrete talent than acting at times. One where she is not necessarily the main focus but where she is able to put the main focus on others and continue to express herself.
It was the summer of 2017, surprisingly enough to me, that she found her passion for photography.
Jenae told me about her experience where she got to study abroad in Paris where the main and only focus was photography, “I took my mom’s camera, a D3300… I loved meeting everyone there and loved that we were able to get inspired from each other. I knew wanted to keep doing it, so, I got my own camera in October and went from there.”
I’m Pretty Okay at This; Humility at it’s Finest
Jenae shares about a defining moment for her photography career that she incurred on this trip, “One moment, on my third day in Paris my camera battery died while we were at The Lourve at 10 AM… I was switching with one of my professors so I could still participate.”
“Every time we switched over we would take a picture of ourselves to know who’s photos were whose, he told me once he sent me all my photos from the day, (in regards to one of her photos) ‘I was actually surprised it wasn’t mine because it’s so good’ obviously he teaches at polytechnic at ASU and been doing this for so much longer than me professionally so, if I had a moment where I thought, hey I’m pretty okay at this, that would be it.”
#Goals
Jenae got a call from the ASU Art Department to feature some of her work at an exhibit, to her surprise the space she was presenting was outside the building and as she should she still finds this to be a defining moment. She told me she being featured in an actual museum one day is one of her goals along with growing her photography business.
Jenae like I said, has such a bright energy about her which shows in her photos. She says, “They’re colorful and different, kind of like me. I guess I don’t really want to put my photos in a box just like I would never want to do with myself.”
She also wanted to note to everyone who may be struggling that ‘it gets better’.
Jenae says, “It gets better, everyone says it, I know it’s stupid, but it does.”
Dear Recipient of Depression,
Her advice to anyone with depression, anxiety, or who may be going through what she went through is to, “Tell someone, the reason it got so bad for me, was because no one knew. I was just angry and sad all by myself. All those horrible emotions with me all the time. I would lash out at those around me but they didn’t connect that with depression because I didn’t open up to them. Let somebody in. It doesn’t matter who. It can only get better because then, somebody’s watching out for you. Somebody is now watching out for you in a way that someone who doesn’t know cant.”
“Tell someone, it gets better, you’re going to have good and bad days. Healing is not linear and expediential, on the graph it goes up and down and up and down, until you get to a place where you’re like I’m good, I’m cured and then you drop again. You’re going to have bad days but you can’t let it define you. Don’t let the bad days define you, tomorrow can always be better. Don’t feel bad if you’re doing good and then you crack one day under pressure. Take it easy on yourself, Take your mental health days as you need them.”
Everything Affects Everything
One last quote we talked about in our interview was one of the more famous one’s from Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower is, “Enjoy it because it’s happening.”
The small moments of your everyday life, even on the bad days are never going to be there again.
Like Jenae pointed out, remember that everything you do affects someone whether you know it or not.
People Watching; Sure to Make you Smile
The other day I was at a coffee house in Tempe editing an article when a little girl and her dad walked in. This little girl was maybe four years old and had the most awkward ponytail that was an obvious sign that her pop had gotten her ready that day. That moment, for some reason, made me smile so much, and neither the girl nor her dad realized it.
Had he been frustrated with the ponytail process? Who knows! But had he given up and left her hair down, I may not have had that small reminder, that small boost needed that day.
Everything affects everything, keep your head up, keep trying, walk into the woods and do all that you can to come out taller than the trees.
Ladies and Gentlemen; Jenae Hirch
View her photos and inquire about sessions at jenaehirschphotography.com
