The Year Of Social Distancing
First off, I hope you and your family are doing well and staying safe in this crazy pandemic time! Start us off with a little background about yourself.
Thank you I really appreciate that, to you and yours as well. My name is Sterling Mills and I’m a fine art photographer who specializes in portraiture. I’m located in Florida and am currently working on my last semester in achieving my bachelor’s in digital photography. My art centers around emotion and I draw almost all of my inspiration from Renaissance art. I’ve struggled for many years in trying to find my style and where I fit in as an artist. It wasn’t until recently that I finally found the kind of art that fuels that fire inside me.
Have you been able to cope well with all that is going on?
I’m not going to lie and say it’s been easy. I’m a huge empathetic so some days it hits harder than others. I’m blessed to be able to be in the situation I am, but my heart breaks for the millions of people in the world who are struggling financially, physically, and emotionally. I think it’s more important than ever to practice kindness every single day because we need it now more than ever.
What are some things you're doing to past the time and keep your mind off the Coronavirus noise?
To keep my mind busy during this tough time I’ve made it point to have a routine. Even on the days I don’t want to get out of bed, I force myself to work out every morning, make myself breakfast, and go straight into what I have to do for that day. At first, I took a step back from photography and focused on things I haven’t done in years that were incredible for my mental health, like reading, writing, spending more time in nature, etc. When school started back up, I had to put some of those things on hold and really buckle down. So now I’m back to the grind of school and editing photos.
I feel like since mostly everyone is unable to do photo-shoots with other people or collaborate in bigger groups; it has either, hindered some creatives output totally, or for some creatives it has given them the opportunity to expose their versatility in the "Creative Entrepreneur" market space. Has "social distancing" been beneficial to you or not? Keeping the loss of business revenue aside. I know we're all hurting in that department.
I think I can speak for everyone when I say that social distancing has been HARD. My friends, especially my creative ones are my whole entire world. I went from seeing them every day to not very often and now it’s not at all because of how severe the situation has gotten. It makes me so angry seeing people I know partying and hanging in giant groups when there are people fighting for their lives and millions unemployed. The longer we continue to be nonchalant and act like this virus isn’t a huge deal, the more our country and our people will continue to struggle. Please be smart!!
We rarely dip into the "political world" but curious to know your thoughts on how the Coronavirus situation is being handled?
Ahhh, politics are something I generally keep to myself because of the repercussions that can come from it. But what I will say is I do think there needs to be stronger enforcement on social distancing so we can beat this thing faster.
What is a quote or saying you'd like to leave us with that could help brighten someones day?
Hope.
If you only carry one thing throughout your entire life, let it be hope. Let it be hope that better things are always ahead. Let it be hope that you can get through even the toughest of times. Let it be hope that you are stronger than any challenge that comes your way. Let it be hope that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now, and that you are on the path to where you are meant to be…. Because during these times, hope will be the very thing that carries you through.
-Nikki Banas
