by Amanda Archibald Since October 2017, I’ve been helping my student and Snapshot Dhaka Co-Leader, Sumaiya, coordinate and fundraise for our 100 Cameras Snapshot Dhaka service project. We were initially inspired by news stories about the Rohingyas being persecuted in Myanmar and migrating to Bangladesh, and were looking for opportunities to impact similar communities through photography and storytelling. In true perfect timing nature, we found 100Cameras on Instagram on a whim, and Sumaiya applied for one of their Snapshot Projects in haste. We were pleasantly surprised when she received an acceptance letter. This was actually happening! We then worked hard to align ourselves with a partner organization that shared our values, and ended up making contact with Teach for Bangladesh, who would ultimately invite us into their schools to work with their children. While working to coordinate and plan this trip, I began to sense my increasing feelings of burnout (a.k.a. working several part-time jobs in addition to full time teaching). So I decided to take a leave of absence from my job. It was really scary after 10 predictable years working as a high school photography teacher and department chair to pursue the uncertain future of being a "photographer" instead. I was tired of teaching teenagers: tired of “performing” for them, asking them to complete assignments and hand in projects for grades, and tired of constantly trying to motivate them to do better (it sounds terrible, but I am exhausted!). I doubted my career choices as a teacher, and wondered why I’d done it for so long. In my professional life, I've worn so many hats - teacher, mentor, freelancer - but I never pursued photography as a full time job. I really didn't know what that would look like or how that would work out for me. In truth, I was always too scared to call myself "a photographer", and so I never really identified as one. And if I’m being honest, I still don't know what being a full time photographer will mean for me. So, between major teacher burnout, juggling personal responsibilities and coordinating aspects of our impending Dhaka trip, I was unsure if I was truly up for this project - and what it meant I had to do. Honestly, I was pretty tired of being around school age children and students in general, and all I wanted was a quiet summer vacation, a few month, to refocus and start moving forward down a new career path. Yet eventually, after some 8000 miles and 24+ hours of travel, over drinks in a downtown Dhaka coffeeshop, I found myself beaming with pride for my students after hearing them share their own stories with the TFB Team. I was inspired in a new way by these kids that I've been working with all year long to plan this trip. I was hearing them speak about why they were here, and what they hoped to accomplish, and I felt an intense sense joy and excitement for them. I was refreshed, regenerated, and inspired to work with them on this project and to get to work with new children, new voices, and to find new ways of teaching these young Banglas how to process and tell their important stories through image making. Even though I don't really have any idea what the future holds for me professionally, I’m certain that I've grown a great deal personally in such a short time, partly because of the kids from back home that I’m working with on this trip. They have shown me first hand the importance of fighting the fight, pursuing your passion, and that we can all have a hand in impacting those around us, and our communities just by being ourselves. I'm now refocused and so very inspired by Sumaiya, Mehran, Ananya and Andrew to continue the type of work I’ve been doing for so long, but now with them in a new way. And now, on the cusp of leaving my safe, predictable, full time job (...with a set schedule...healthy benefits...matching retirement options...), to be a full time freelance photographer - I feel strong and capable of doing the things that I set out to do. And I know that won't ever "just" be a photographer, but that I will always be an educator. Below you'll see some images documenting on our first day working with the Bangla students in Nurer Chala, Uttar Badda, Dhaka.
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