I think this is one of the most sentimental and heartfelt sessions I have ever done. It was a gloriously clear fall day, with the clouds one dreams about in the summer. Warm but not balmy; sun coming in strong; shorter days tempering the harsh high noon.

We met on Pont Neuf, right by the statue of the horse, and spent the afternoon playing in the gentle branches of the willow tree; trying not to get run over by cars as we ran into the road; hopped on the metro four times between Passy and Bir Hakeim; and shared a very adult goûter of les frites; un trou normand (pear sorbet with Calvados); and a coffee milkshake.

I met Miranda my freshman year in French club, and she was someone I hoped to be like by the time I finished school. She was a fellow Francophile and spoke excellent French that made me blush as I stumbled through the passé composé. But despite my choppy sentences, she welcomed me to come tutor some littles in the neighbourhood through the club, and I went. I remember thinking how lovely it would be if I could speak half as well as she could…and now that I’ve been in France, I definitely can say my confidence has improved drastically >.< We’ve had our share of laughs and tears in this city together and I’m grateful for her kindness and friendship !

Dear Miranda, as you wrap up two years in what we agree to be one of the most marvellous cities on earth, I hope you’re excited for your next page and also hopeful for a return. A little push to better things with plenty of happy memories and one sad friend to see you go. Merci beaucoup for sharing your Paris with me, and in a way, encouraging me to make it mine, too.

Photographs on film with a Nikon F100 and digital with Olympus.