There are hundreds of thousands of pictures uploaded to the internet every single day. Smart phones with built in cameras have made it possible to document every moment of our lives and share it with the world. Selfies, photogenic food, family bonding, and anything else you can think of make up a good portion of our phone's storage and the internet's image database. Cameras and pictures are an average part of our daily lives.

However, these pictures are usually snapped without a second thought. There's no creativity or process. The way many people see pictures is the same way photography was seen from the beginning: documentation. This isn't necessarily a problem, because that is the primary purpose of cameras. And photography may not be the first thing you think of when you think about art, but it may be worth a try to change your views.

I was like you once. I used my phone to take pictures of everything I thought was interesting or aesthetically pleasing. I got my first real camera when I was 16 years old, and for years after I only used it for random things. I used it to take pictures of my friends, my family, my pets, and-I'm guilty-my food. My pictures weren't art. They weren't original or different. They were just mine.

My freshman year of college, I took a photography class. I would highly recommend this to anyone and everyone. My class didn't just teach me how to properly use a camera. I was learning about how to see the world differently. Suddenly, I didn't see photography as documentation. I saw photography as an art form. I was looking through a lens at things I hadn't even considered giving a second glance to.

My photography class opened up a lot of doors for me. Photography is a form of expression. It's a creative outlet. I began looking through the lens of my camera as if it was a new pair of eyes. Everything looked different when I was taking photos.

One of the coolest things about photography is that everyone approaches it differently. Are you drawn to portraits? Nature? Surrealism? Everyone sees the world differently, so it's obvious that everyone's photos would turn out a different way. In class, it was clear that everyone's photos were original and different. They were art.

I encourage each and every one of you to pick up a camera. Look through the lens as if it were an extension of you. The more you photograph, the more you'll realize what you're drawn to. You'll begin to discover how you see things, and maybe even why. Photography isn't just documentation. It's not even just art. It's a way to learn yourself.