Sam has been sucked in. 

She likes pink. 

Heaven forbid. :P 

Day 76: 

Besties

Day 77:

Our fingernails show off our personalities. 

Day 78: 

Snow, AGAIN??

Day 79:

Memory lane

Day 80: 

My name is on the last beam to go into the new library

Day 81: 

Well, hey there!

I spring cleaned my room yesterday, and part of that process involved travelling back in time as I sat down to sort through the boxes and bags upon boxes and bags of letters I have accumulated over the years.

I was that nerdy home school girl who got very involved in letter-writing from a young age. In fact, I still have some of those very early letters, perhaps even the first one. I can't be quite positive about which is the first letter I ever received, but I do know that I have some that date back to when I was probably 8 or so.

Anywho, to get back on track...
As I sorted through these letters, throwing out the ones from girls I hadn't heard from in years (and who weren't very close to me...there are some letters that I'll keep from gals I haven't heard from in years because they're just that kind of friend. They're letters that are much too memorable to throw away), and wrapping elastic bands around the ones I decided to keep, I realized something...

Ever since I was very little, I have always loved writing. I remember my first story and the excitement of writing that I discovered! The thrill, the absolute italic-of-the-Emily-books kind of thrill, that I would get whenever I would receive a letter in the mail. Every Sabbath that we would meet, my lil friend Genny (who is not quite so little anymore) and I would exchange notes and stories and colored pictures. In my early teens, I even boasted having 50+ penpals at one time. But it wasn't just the love of writing or the excitement of getting a letter...it was the words. The dear, sweet, funny, loving words exchanged.

I have since discovered and looked into that whole other home school craze: the 5 Love Languages. :P Oh, c'mon, you know all us home schoolers are into that whole personality thing. What I discovered was that one of my strongest love languages is "words of affirmation". It shouldn't be a surprise because I've always loved words, loved reading, and feeling the beauty of them. The colors that I see, the powerfulness of words...I am more likely to cry over a book than I am over a movie.
Words...it's how I met my best friends, it's how a boy won my heart over, it's how I express myself better than any other way, and it's where I go to escape the world of reality. Words can hurt and lift me in a way that nothing else can.

Letters reveal a part of someone that I can understand better than if I were just people-watching. I don't necessarily notice the details of someone's body the way Sherlock Holmes can. Instead I read their words, and I feel like I know them better that way, because it is personal, it is private...letters are something that is just between me and the person writing back.

You want to know how to win over the heart of Sam? Write her a letter. (Heck, emails work too, but they're not nearly as unique or exciting as snail mail.)

What does one think of when one hears the words spring break? Trips away? Sunny weather and flip-flops?

What is it like in reality? It's a week crammed with visits with friends, reading books for pleasure, watching movies, eating junk food, going to work as usual, writing a letter, drinking coffee, snowy weather keeping you indoors, and...spring cleaning.

There's something about taking a room, turning it upside down, sorting through everything, and putting it all back together sparkly-clean that makes me feel better. Even though it's tiring, I feel a sense of accomplishment, happy to check off one more thing off my to-do list. Rockin' out to Katharine McPhee, chatting with a tag-along little sister, creating little changes to my bedroom's appearance, getting rid of things, LOTS of things!, and imagining what you're going to do new to the wall.

And sorting through your personal belongings, it holds a sense of magic. The journal of 7-year-old Sam, the dozens upon dozens of letters from old friends, your old stuffed toy animals, the beautiful books, the movies, and the old scrapbooks...the memories.

So no, while it's not sunny outside, my room smells and looks shiny and bright inside. How's your spring break going?

You know those moments when you meet someone in your life who just completely turns your life around? Who makes you smile and laugh; who prays with you and reminds you to keep your head up and focus on God; the person who drives you absolutely bonkers-crazy but also loves you to death...the kind of a once in a life-time friendship.






It's like "Guh-lind-ah" and Elphaba say:
So much of me
Is made from what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart

And now whatever way our stories end

I know you have rewritten mine

By being my friend...

Because I knew you...I have been changed for good. 

The true kind of best friend changes you and I am proud to call Amy one of my best friends. The girl who would make the most dangerous kind of enemy because she literally knows every single one of my secrets, how I think, and how I will react. Dangerous, I'm telling ya! But with a friendship like this, it's all good, cuz so long as she loves me and I love her, we'll be changed for good. Happy "early" birthday, Ducky!

You don't realize how painful following a dream can be til you meet the sacrifices you'll have to make. Then you doubt if its all worth it after all. I keep asking myself, is photography and God enough for me even if it means never getting married? And I won't lie, the thought makes me blue.


But what would be worse, in the long run? Doing what I love or sitting around doing what I hate, while waiting for a guy to come?



I'm done waiting and settling. I wasn't born to just settle for less. I was born to do the best I could do. Wasting my talents not only disrespects the very person I am, but it also disrespects the God that made me. And this time, I choose to respect myself, to respect my God. Here I go, world, come what may...even if it means 2 or 4 or even 6 more years of school, giving up my time and my other desires; even if it means remaining single til I'm middle-aged or never marrying at all. I am not settling for less. There is something greater in this world than meeting a guy. Being the person God created me to be, doing what I'm supposed to be doing....instead of sitting around, I want to "...bare the naked truth", "illuminate the past", and best of all, "record beauty and ugliness, poverty and grandeur."

Day 69: 

We are twinsies

Day 70: 

This. *heart*

Day 71:

Look who joined me at work!

Day 72: 

I am a Canon fan, yes. 

Day 73: 

Adding to my portfolio

Day 74: 

The things we do...

Day 75:

Yeah.