“I Was Tired Of Sitting In Classes That Didn’t Matter”

Just like me, Alex Sweeney had ideas, dreams, and imaginative thoughts while being a college kid. Being in college is tough, especially when you can’t concentrate and you feel like you’re wasting your money on things such as chemistry and accounting Sometimes, your mind ends up in other places. “Back in sophomore year of college, I had a couple friends who knew a guy who would attended New York Fashion Week. He videotaped and did interviews at all the shows, and friends work looked cool. One of my dreams was working at New York Fashion Week because every photographer does fashion at some point. Out of sheer luck, one of my college peers asked me if I wanted to join her to work for this guy, and of course I jumped at the opportunity, because let’s face it, NYFW is extremely close knit and the only way you get into the tents is by knowing somebody.

I stepped inside Lincoln Center and my focus on what I wanted to do with my photography and my art completely changed. Fashion gave me a spark of madness that I never felt before. I was obsessed, and I became eager to learn about all the designers, not just the big label ones, but the smaller lesser known ones as well. I was beginning to shoot every other runway show, and I was only a couple feet away from the clothes. The fact that people will travel all over the world to see a runway show made me feel so grateful, and so lucky to have the connections I had. I must have done something right because the guy I worked for asked me to come back for a couple more seasons, and every time the designers blew me away.  After three seasons I decided that my dream of being at the edge of a runway fighting for a spot wasn’t my only dream. There was a bigger dream inside me, I wanted to work intimately with a designer, not just see the final product.

            I wanted to work for a designer, see the process of the clothes and be able to photograph an artist at work. My dream was to tell the story of the designer, the raw, uncut, and beautiful process of making wearable art. I was tired of sitting in classes that didn’t matter, I was tired of paying tuition for things that I was genuinely not interested in. That’s when the idea hit me, I needed to intern for a designer. I chose the best designer out there who had a heart of gold and the same drive and passion as me for success. I remember messaging asking if he would take interns. He said yes, and then I had this feeling inside my chest that I never felt before, I was eager to write a proposal to work with him. With the help of one of my professors I wrote him an email asking if he would like an in house photographer to shoot look books, collections, and behind the scenes.

I remember that moment when he said, “Yes I would love that.” (Because I managed to interrupt a chemistry lecture by screaming out of sheer excitement.) I felt so proud. This time, after working with this sweet, kind and humble designer for 8 months I knew that I didn’t want to get another job, I loved working with his whole team, they made every day a new challenge, and I loved that. I loved the sense of having to conquer new things every day and it really made me grow as a person. This all happened in the matter of 11 months, and that to me is insane, how quickly life can change if you give yourself the power to change it. When the internship ended I asked if I could be an assistant for him, and again he said yes.

For me, being so young, employed by a fashion designer, and doing what I love, it has never once felt like work because I enjoy it. I couldn’t be happier with everything I have accomplished and everything I have done. I feel complete as an individual. Sometimes following your dreams is the best thing you can do in your life, because, you only live once and you should make your dreams a reality. It may be a rough, winding, exhausting and not always a glitzy road, but in the end, it's worth it.”

            Alex and I became great friends at New York Fashion Week and after we did some soul searching and graduated college we took our careers toward a more enjoyable path. One we truly love. For some following your dreams means studying and taking test for a college degree, for others it means taking the time to learn outside of the classroom. Neither of which are wrong, but sometimes, you need to think outside the box.

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Mahipal SoCal - @mahipalsocal