When I got the email that I won the lottery, I spoke to a few people and asked them what they would write.
My dad said something in particular that sparked the “aha” moment in me. He said, “What is it that you think about before you fall asleep?”
A little about me. I’m 23, born + raised in Vancouver, Canada. I spent about 3 years in Montreal, Quebec - living, working, learning French. A year after I graduated high school, 2011, my parents bought me a ticket to Montreal to visit a friend, who was studying @ McGill. I instantly fell in love with the city (middle of February in Eastern Canada, mind you). I expressed an interest in revisiting the city to my mother and brother. On my way to the airport, with 4% battery life on my phone, my brother calls me up and tells me: “If you like it over there so much, why don’t you stay? I’ll throw you $250 tonight if you don’t board your flight. I’ll even pay for your first months rent. Then you’re on you’re own.” I didn’t even have enough money to pay for the cab. I didn't even have enough time to think it through. I skipped my flight anyway.
The best years of my life, thus far, were spent in Montreal. And I’m not talking about fun times, camaraderie and drunken bullshit (although that played a part). I’m talking consistent challenge. Always on your toes. Work at your most efficient. Challenge others. Learning another language is difficult, especially in a city where lack of knowledge of said language is a burden before you can even recognize it to be so. Humility plays a huge part in it all. So does perseverance. And pride, unfortunately.
Side note - I feel my entire life, I’ve flip flopped between the need to chase the American Dream and living a solitary life, making an honest living without much care for where I stand in social circles. Across the board I can tell you that I feel the need to contribute in some substantial way to current culture.
I’d like to ask you all: what you think about before you fall asleep?
I shoot 35mm film - you can find my pictures at thegofg dot tumblr dot com
My ex boyfriend is plenty more talented. His name is Stan Troitsky - you can google him, or his website Mook Life, for some very real life photography…
Feel free to send me photos you have taken that you are particulate proud of! Feel free to send me whatever the hell you want to share, really.
"...whether the stuff of creation may be shaped to man's will or whether his own heart is not another kind of clay." - cormac mccarthy
Jane Voytcheff
[email protected]
Vancouver, BC, Canada