My name is puzzles shum.
I am half Greek and half Colombian.
This is a little glimpse of who I am.
I was born in Toronto, ON Canada.
When I was a child, my father got a job overseas in the Middle East - Saudi Arabia.
I was there for ten years.
It was the best ten years of my life since as early as a child I got the chance to see the world!
This would of not have happened if my father had not taken this big chance or had a supportive wife to back him up.
I’ve been back in Canada for 13 years now.
Here’s my story of what I am now and who I am trying to become.
Schooling was always hard for me since I have a learning disability.
Learning disabilities slow people down because you have to look for alternate ways to achieve your goals.
After I accomplished the goal of completing high school, I tried my best to move onto college.
I went to college to become a chef but that did not work out for me.
While I felt I had hit a dead-end, it actually opened another door for me.
I started to think about becoming a photographer and that’s where I am today.
There are things in life that happen and you have no control over them.
The important thing is to ask for help sooner rather than later.
At the age 20, I was diagnosed with a mental illness.
I am four and a half years into my diagnosis and I have not given up.
If I had never had this illness, I would have never have gotten into photography.
I was really lost for a while but gaining this new skill has made me into a new and happier person.
In the end, I chose to attend an on-line college (www.thephotographyinstitute.ca) and receive my freelance diploma in photography.
Puzzles Shum joined Fine Art America on August 7th, 2012.
