Migrating

Hullo, frens.

I've decided to migrate to another blogging site now, simply because it's a change that I've been needing to make for awhile now. I [obviously] prefer photo-based posts, and this platform better caters to my needs. I'm also [hoping] to post more regularly over there since I think it's prettier, and I'm clearly best motivated by pretty things.

clearly.

https://merchau.jux.com/

Shots:

Sometimes you just stumble across shots that make you smile, that need nothing from you to make them better. So you stand on a street corner and shameless point your camera in the sky, taking half a dozen pictures before you get it just right so that you can be fully satisfied in how you've captured the shot. And then you smile some more, because you just captured three of your favorite things all at once: clouds, lines, and tokens of love.

[And then you gallop around the town, shooting everything else you jolly well please:]

24

I'm 24 now. 24. Like, 2 dozen eggs.

Oh, boy.

23 was one exciting, crazy year that I will fail to recap adequately here, but I guess it's still worth a try. This last year I...

1. Took the MCAT...for the 3rd time. And finally got a score more reflective of all the hours I put into studying for The Beast.
2. Said "goodbye" to my grandmother during her funeral
3. Ran a couple of marathons
4. Frolicked around Oklahoma, Colorado, Missouri, and Texas for a bit with some of the best people in the world
5. Ran my fastest mile ever
6. Moved back to T-town
7. Took engagement pictures for 5 sets of friends
8. Witnessed the marriage of my favorite brunette Lady Knight
9. Started another book/writing project
10. Bought my first big-kid camera
11. Went on some of the most beautiful hikes ever
12. Connected with some excellent clients that actually make work fun some days
13. Started hanging out with The Boy
14. Played on a real soccer team
15. And So Much More....

[Sadly, I cleared off most of the pictures on my computer that represent these events and left them sitting on CDs left at home/not in T-town. So I really only have a few pics to represent all the above happy things...]

[hikes]

[wedding]

[boy]

And now? What will this next year hold? I wish I could say for certain, and yet at the same time, I'm kind of glad I can't see that far into the future. It will probably hold exciting things like 

The Wedding of The Brother and 

The Wedding of Favorite Blonde Lady Knight and 

The Great California Adventure and 

Time in CoMo Part II and 

The Start of Medical School. 

It will probably also hold painful things like 

Leaving Friends and

Studying for Late Nights and 

Wondering If I Made the Right Decision

But whatever it holds, I'm going to try to embrace it. To learn from it all, the good and the bad. To grow during it. To turn 25 as a stronger, better, fuller person than I started 24. 

Here's to birthdays. 

Freelancin'

Some days being a freelance writer is miserable. Some days the work is slow, but the bills are not. Some days are spent tossing out dozens of applications for new gigs, all the while knowing that you'll probably not be hired for any of them. Some days are just hard because you have absolutely no motivation to get things done. Some days sorting through 1099s from all your clients as you prepare you taxes is positively tedious. 

But most days, most days being a freelance writer is nice. Most days you appreciate the freedom of working wherever and whenever you want. Most days you love how travelling does not have to equate to taking time off of work, although it can if you can afford for it to. Most days you love setting your own schedule, working it around when the best time for you to take your daily run is. 

Here's to Most Days. 

Oh, Shoot.

I meant to do a "2012 Recap" post, but that clearly didn't happen right away....so I've decided to postpone those thoughts and opt for an eventual birthday recap instead. Most of the exciting things of 2012 happened after January of last year anyways.

So. Until then. Here are a few shots from my latest engagement shoot. It was my first time shooting people younger than me (wait...whuuut?!?), and I happen to know these two kids for forever (Tyler from when he was 2, Jessica from when she was 4.) It was also my first time shooting with snow on the ground, icicles longer than my arm, and below freezing temperatures. For this shoot I broke my "No Railroad Tracks" rule because that was the one place where she wanted to take pictures. And, well, making brides-to-be happy is what I do.

I have to admit, however, that at least the tracks that they chose were my favorite set of tracks. The scenery around them is beautiful enough that we only had to shoot at one location, so once we safely skidded across the black ice in the parking lot, we were good to go. [And by "go," I really mean "go freeze our fingers off."]

T-Town

Moments from T-Town [lately].

[Sunday soccer games]

["ultra"]

[downtown things]

[lovely store]

[simple things]

[parking garage things]

[end of a day]

Finishing

Finishing.

It's something I regard highly, yet I've learned to realize that it's a high regard that has often held me back. For instance, I want to finish everything so badly that a fear of not being able to follow through with things keeps me from even starting.

It's stupid, really.

I want to learn other languages, so I research methods and order a course. Then the course sits there in its nice little box staring at me, taunting me. Because I know that once I start it, I either finish it...or quit.

I want to write a book someday and often have fun story line ideas. Sometimes I even outline plots during free moments in my days. But actually starting those projects, actually setting up that Word doc, actually typing those first few lines--well, that's the hardest part. Because once I do that, then there's only two options: finish...or quit.

And the list goes on to art projects, musical instruments, dreams, dreams, and more dreams. Things that I'd really like to do yet keep putting off because I'm not sure if I can finish them.

And yet slowly, I'm learning that finishing isn't really all that important. I can start and learn to love the doing, really love the process even if it never reaches completion. And it's been a beautiful discovery, one I'm slowly but surely learning to embrace a bit more with each new challenge, each new dream.

So.

Here's to Starting.