Amber Pietz is a fourth-year journalism and media design and development major and writes “A journal from a photojournalist” for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
Everything happens for a reason.
That’s something I have been telling myself for the past year. It’s easy enough to say to yourself but harder to believe when you have your heart set on something.
When I first got to Ball State University, I was in the middle of finding myself again. I left behind a part of myself and knew it was better for me in the long run to find something else to focus my attention on, and I did just that.
I have always been someone who gives 110 percent to things I’m passionate about. Growing up, that included 14 years of dance, performing and the yearbook that I joined during my sophomore year of high school.
Ever since then, it’s rare to see me without a camera in my hands. I met the former adviser of the Unified Media Lab the day after I moved into the dorms, and I can say with certainty that it was the best decision I ever made for myself.
I got to a point where I knew that I wanted to pursue sports photography professionally, and I wanted to do anything I possibly could to make that a reality. I started by going to every sports meeting to get to know the reporters and signed up to photograph any game I could. I took them up on every opportunity that was thrown my way, which was more than I could have dreamed of.
I know that whatever opportunities come my way, none of them would be possible had I not put the time and effort into growing my work and taking advantage of the opportunities that came my way.
For a long time, the sidelines was always an escape for me — somewhere I knew I could go to forget about whatever it was I had going on for a few hours, cover a game and enjoy what I was doing. I fell in love with the storytelling that happens at a game. Every game is its own story. There are different aspects of a game you can focus on, and emotions can be incredibly high.
It wasn’t until my third year, when I became the Student University Photographer and Editor with Ball State Marketing and Communication, that I had the creative freedom to try, to mess up and grow my work. I started paying more attention to all the different aspects of the game and different perspectives I could use to tell the story through photos.
While I will forever and always love the action, I love the emotions and features you can find at a game, moments that feel “behind the scenes,” that you might miss if you were watching it from home. A talented photographer once told me, “It’s about finding ways to make your work stand out in the ocean of images that are created every day.”
There are still times where I have imposter syndrome, where I wonder if I’m good enough to be where I am and to have had the opportunities that I’ve been given. But then I remember all the time that I have put into this. I’ve spent countless hours covering games and a variety of university events during the last four years.
I’m reminded by the photographers I work with that I deserve to be here, and I will find the right thing at the right time after I graduate. I know that I can not only lean on them but also my friends I’ve met at the Ball State Daily News (DN) for support.
Every person I met while at Ball State has contributed in making me the person I am today, and I truly believe that I met each one of them at the moment that I needed to. From the three senior design editors and the photo editor my freshman year — who I don’t think I would have made it through that year without — to everyone I have had the joy of traveling with over the years, to the university photographers I have had the pleasure of working with and learning from the past two years, and everyone on the current staff of the DN.
I know that everything that’s happened — the good, the bad and the ugly — made me stronger. Then, more than ever, I knew where I was meant to be. From the experiences I’ve had to the friendships I’ve made, I know that amidst the unknown that the future holds, I will always keep these past four years very close to my heart.
Contact Amber Pietz via email at amber.pietz@bsu.edu or via X @amber_pietz.
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