Somali Sideways - Hamdi Ali

(Picture from Somali Sideways Facebook, Click to view)

Here we have Hamdi Ali, a photographer and microbiology student living in #Guelph, #Ontario, #Canada.

"Balancing my love for school and my love for photography has been a juggling act, one that started when I was 17, when I got my first dSLR. In high school, I knew I wanted to study photography but my academic commitment detoured me, leading to me studying microbiology, an area of study in which I fell in love. I love learning about how things affect us at the microbial level in contrast to how the world affects us holistically. There have been times when all I would focus on would be my education, times that I would stare so intensely at my textbook, times that made it feel like it was suffocating. Photography was always my way out, my greatest form of release. And then I would go back to my textbooks, to studying, to learning. Because I felt that I had gotten my dose for the week or for the month and it would be enough to keep me going. It's been a constant cycle of wondering where I should direct my energy and my focus, because solely focusing on one, meant taking time away from the other. And if I kept diving my time between the two, it would take longer for me to reach my goals, to be a better photographer and to be a better student. It's still a balancing act but alhamdulillah, it's getting better. And in sha Allah, it only gets better. To the point where I can fully and sincerely, give my heart to one". #SomaliSideways.