Phoebe Hollingsworth
Instagram | @phoebe.holli
Photographer | Seeley Casey – Woodlands, TX
Instagram | @twogirlsandalens
Web | twogirlsandalens.com
I was born in Australia. Growing up in another country has been the experience that has most shaped my character. I have faced challenges living far away from the place I call home, especially growing up without my extended family, and I have struggled at times with my identity and fitting in, but the positives have by far outshone the negatives.
The chance to travel and experience the world from a different perspective have helped me to foster my sense of individuality, expand my world view, and nurture my adaptability, independence, empathy, and communication skills. It has also given me more opportunities then I thought possible. I have been forced out of my comfort zone, allowing me to make choices that would not have been possible in Australia.
The path my life has taken and my experiences growing up in the United States have had a great effect on the qualities that inspire me in an individual. I am most inspired by my mum. Leaving everyone and everything you know and moving to the other side of the world is not easy, and the way in which she did this, with my dad, has always inspired me. My mum always strives to make the best out of every situation – something that I try to do in my own life – and is the most reliable, driven, and loving person I know. I see a lot of her in myself, and she is very much like her own mother, my grandmother.
I was very close to my grandmother, but she passed away when I was young. I would love to sit down and talk with her now, hear more about her life, share experiences and let her see the person her granddaughter has become. My happiest memories are walking along the beach in Australia with my mum and grandmother, collecting seashells and talking – a tradition we still do when we go home.
I have always felt a strong connection with the ocean. Not only is it the place that I connect with my family, my childhood, and my home, but the reliability of its ebbs and flows have always soothed me – with every dip comes a peak. I have experienced my own dips in life, particularly the struggle I faced with depression and anxiety in my early years of high school. My proudest moment in life has been to overcome this battle and rediscover the true me. I didn’t allow my depression’s waves to smother me, but rather forced them to propel me foreword making me a stronger student, friend, daughter, and young woman.
Three words I would use to describe myself in this current phase of my life are passionate, creative, and loyal. When I graduate, I plan to return home to Australia for university and major in psychology. In the next 5, 10, 15 years, all I can hope and dream for is to be happy and fulfilled in life, whatever that means or wherever that takes me.
