This year has been one of the best so far. Reflecting back on the year has given me insight into the things that I want to hold onto and the things I want to let fall away. 2017 has show me love, loss, adventure, friends old and new, incredible pizza, good and bad luck and how to handle them both, unforgettable sunsets, incredible sunrises, camp outs, dirt roads, tons of fires, new cities, and a solid house of my own. It hasn't been an easy year for the world and our country, but I want to focus on the good that I have in my life and the people that help to support that. Looking through my photos from this year leave me with a smile on my face and a warm, excited, and inspired feeling in my chest. Living in my car for a little bit was eye opening. There are some definite highlights in my year, including, but not limited to: Hanging out with some mini buddies and being an aunt, seeing the insane diverse landscapes of our country, learning to be patient and accept what comes, working for and with incredible humans, returning to Hogwarts, not once, but TWICE, learning better ways to deal with stress and communicate (still something that I'm working on, but getting better all the time), singing to fast car on california cliffs with the windows down, excellently currated playlists, gourmet road sandwiches, desert shacks, the milky way, lightning storms, oceans, cliffs, and deserts, swiming in canyons, photographing everything, playing soccer, climbing mountains, carving pumpkins and making shrinky dinks, tearing up some Maine Lobster, seeing the eclipse, backyard hangs, desert photoshoots, puppies, students, making winery friends, and overall loving life.
So many things I'm looking forward to and dreading at the same time for the coming year. It's going to be a year of building and taking chances and exploring what I want my life to look like. When I decided to leave my teaching job and push myself to discover what makes me happy, it was one of the scariest things that I've done. Luckily, I have an incredible support system, an amazing photo mentor/boss, and lots of insanely smart, determined, creative, and motivating friends and family to help guide me in creating a strong foundation. I don't know what I'm going to do with 2018 yet, but I know who I want there with me and I know I want to experience the world, live in the moment, let go of the negativity, and embrace change and challenge.
I haven't made my to do list yet, but in short, off the top of my head, I want to:
be be capable of doing a pull up, travel every month, book/shoot a wedding on the west coast, run a half marathon in a national park, eat lots of pizza, get a new toilet, fix my house, not kill all of my plants, read more blogs, take more classes, say "allora" a lot, and be outside as much as possible.
Happy 2018 friends! I hope it brings you lots of love, luck, good food, experience, and sleep =)
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