10/16/15 [Up in the air]

I’m sitting on a plane to Milan. I’m stopping back home for a few days before going to Morocco and shooting the first segment of my new project [Quest for Beauty] in the Alps tomorrow. It will be nice to spend some time with my family and get to see some old friends.

We hit some pretty strong turbulence earlier—I kind of like that though, it makes me feel alive, it reminds me of how anything could change at any time—I looked outside the window and I saw my reflection in the dark night. I don’t know what it was but I looked somewhat different. For a brief second I thought about how on every trip I will look at my reflection and every time I will look slightly different, slightly changed from the experiences lived on the previous adventure, slightly wiser, slightly older. Then I thought about something that never really occurred to me before: I am a pretty ballsy girl! I’ve done so many stupid things and risked so much so often in my short 27 years here and i don’t regret any of it! I still don’t know shit but I’ve learnt to follow my heart no matter how stupid what it tells me to do is and I learnt to face my fears day after day .  I kept staring at my reflection and understood that the girl I saw was very rarely afraid now. She used to be so scared before, scared to do what she wanted to do and terrified of being who she wanted to be. Now she knew that even if fears will constantly try to crawl her way up to her heart she’d be strong enough to overcome it. The girl I saw wasn’t fearless, she was Brave!

Turbulence is necessary sometime. I smiled, alone, in my seat. The sun was coming up and we were flying over the Alps, pure magic was happening in the sky. Narnia’s vibe! I thought about this new journey I am about to start, this new big Quest I am beginning. I am not 100% sure wether I’m looking for beauty or for myself but i definitely can’t wait to find out!

10/25/15 – [En route to Milan Malpensa Airport]

I can’t believe I’m really doing this! I am in a car to the airport about to catch a flight to Marrakech, by myself, with the only  mission to take some good portraits of Moroccan Women and show them to the world in all their beauty.

I am so happy the images I shot in the Alps turned out good, the weather wasn’t on my side but the people of the village—Monno—were so amazing and helpful in making magic happen! It was a great first step, the next one is much bigger and much scarier.

I can’t deny I’m a bit nervous about this trip but as i always say being nervous is a good sign, it means something greater than we know might be about to happen. When we are really scared of something it usually means that something is exactly the direction we should be going towards. Almost everybody I know tried to change my mind about this trip, saying it’s dangerous and stupid…i kind of can’t wait to prove them wrong!

10/29/15 [Brescia-my childhood bedroom]

I am sitting in bed exhausted after a long day of shooting in middle Italy and a long train ride back to Brescia. I am writing this in a new notebook I bought in Marrakech, it looks like a very old notebook, and it feels that even though the pages are still clean lots of stories lye within them already. I am so happy I went on this trip, and even happier to say that in the end my gut was right once more! Morocco was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life, I’m glad i did it! I leave for London tomorrow , I’m excited to have a a few days off to relax and enjoy the city. I’ll never get tired of Foggy London Town, She’s my old time lover, and she’ll always will be.

11/12/15 [Venice]

Today I spent a full day in Venice with my mom. As far as aesthetics go, Venice is my favorite city on the planet, so much beauty in it!  The last time we came here together I was probably 6 years old. I took a portrait of her that i’ll give her on christmas day, seeing her through my viewfinder I realized how delicate she is, i saw the sacrifices she made for me and my sister and I felt the heartbreaker she experienced. I should be a better daughter. I should spend more time with her; I’m glad we had today!

11/15/15 [Milano Malpensa Airport]

3 countries, 5 planes, 2 trains and several car rides later it’s finally time to go home, back to the East Village! I spent this last week in Brescia. Time kind of stops when I visit home, it’s nice though, it allows me to recharge my batteries. This trip was magical without a doubt, I met so many cool people, I made good friends, found new soulmates and got to sprinkle a little bit of pixie dust around. This whole adventure—especially Morocco— was an incredible self discovering experience, I understood so many things about myself and about the person I want to be. I am looking forward to look at the girl in the reflection and see that slight difference in her, I can’t wait to hit turbulence!

—S