24 is just as special.

Last week I turned 24. While there were no balloons or no extravagant gifts I found this year's celebration to be just as special, if not more than any other year of notable mention (You know like your 1st, 10th, 15th or 16th, so on and so on). The day and the weekend that followed were just like any other but this time, being inspired by Liisa Luts who photographed her own wedding, I decided to photograph my own milestone from the first moment shortly after 12am Friday to the end of my weekend  after church on Sunday. Yes,  I still had to go to work, I still had to come home to wash the dishes and a few other things you could consider mundane but it's because of those things that I truly woke up feeling like one of the most fortunate people in the world. Here I am, 24 with the privilege to work at a place where the people that surround me are some of the brightest and talented people in the field; I get to come home to a place I can call my very own; even though my birthday fell on a weekday, I am grateful for friends who took time out of their weekend to celebrate with me again; and lastly, I get to freely give praise to God, whom without Him all this and the last 23 years would not be possible. So I leave you with these, may you also find any reason at all to celebrate every birthday and regular day in between.

 

                   

                   

  

   

 

                     

                   

                    

Post Post-Grad

    Some posts ago I said I was finishing up grad school in less than one week, however things have changed! Now, a few blog posts later and grad school has been over for the last 3 weeks (No matter how many times I say that out loud or in my head, realizations like that make me squeel like a little girl who was just hugged by Harry Styles). 

      Given that, I’m sure everybody wants to know what my future plans are (and by everybody I mean probably just my parents, siblings, and a few relatives who have invested a lot of time, words of wisdom, prayers, money, extra bedrooms for me to crash in, and effort into any part of my educational career). Well let me tell you, my plans post post-grad go as follows:

1. Live life. 

2. Repeat step one while doing so in Sydney, Australia. 

      Yep, 12 years of grade school, 4 years of secondary eduction and a one-and-half-year post-graduate degree later the best answer I can come up with is to live life. I’m aware of the fact that my answer doesn’t sound too thorough or stable but still… Isn’t that the best answer any of us can come up with?

      The year before I graduated college I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Truth be told, that was a grand part of the reason why I decided to go to get my master’s degree. Everyone around me at the time had some sense of what they wanted, what they were good at (Maybe I missed the memo about that meeting). So I did what I usually do in situations like that, I prayed. Afterwards I sent in my application for grad school and that was that. 

      While my  time spent in school  did help me figure out more of  what I was interested in it didn’t help me figure out what exactly I could and would do. That part was all God. He helped me realize that the years I spent stuck having a one-track mind were actually limiting me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to make a general goal of where you’d like to be in x-amount of years but we can never successfully devise the actual  steps to get there (Proverbs 16:9 || Jeremiah 29:11). That part, again is all God.

      “Be open to new, to the unknown and the unexperienced”, He said. “That’s where unexpected opportunities and trust in who I Am have the best chance of thriving.” He constantly had to remind me that He knows the desires of my heart - of all of ours - the depths of my mind, and the ability of my hands. He would not have given such things to all of us us if were supposed to stay glued to one thing  for the rest of our lives. 

      So here goes nothing everything. Here is to taking time to design more stuff, starting a  business of my own, volunteering, blogging more, growing roots, listening to people’s stories, taking pride in how far we all have come, late nights followed by late mornings or early mornings preceded by early nights, helping others, sharing my love of Christ with the world, strengthening relationships, travelling, more photos, getting blown away by God’s unconditional and unending grace, new connections, roads less traveled, new customs, old traditions, family, friends, strangers, peers, co-workers, love, never stopping my education long after school has ended, unplanned moments, meticulously planned schedules,
living, imagination, faith, and excitement. 

My City Saturday pt. 1

Here is to the trip that almost didn’t happen because I was so focused on work. Psalm 23:2 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul." Sometimes instead of planning and planning and planning just stop. Breath. Take a break and enjoy your surroundings. It’s all too easy to give the excuse and say we are working for a better life when we don’t realize that that better is here around us already.

Thank you to my cousin, Ang who helped me to realize that weekend, breaks are okay.

[gallery]

For my final art piece this last term. This is the statement that went along with it.

Raw Talent Means Nothing If It’s Green
    Having been inspired by the everyday life of a typical teenager, I became curious about their common activities: texting, surfing the web, hanging out with friends, shopping, and “doing nothing.” The very idea that such a young person spends a good portion of their time invested in what society calls, menial was the notion that pushed me further into this project.
    Building a concept and then executing it was challenging. After I had come up with the idea, I became a bit frustrated because there were many avenues for me to take. Initially, my plans were to document a group of young adults - preferably teenagers - in their natural settings but as my research progressed I found that to be unnecessary. I did a bit of fieldwork by simply watching people and what they do, I went about asking teenagers to get a first-hand account, then I turned to the online articles to solidify my findings. It was not until I viewed the works of Darren Sylvester did I finally know exactly how to go about my proposed work. From there I looked at similar artists such as Tom Hussey, Lise Safati, and Abbas and found that with the proper use of color and camera angle I could  attain a precise look in my own images. Utilizing such components would force the viewer to see the pictures the way I desired them to.
     From the choice of scenes, I chose to set up tableaus of a young woman sleeping in her bed; rummaging through her refrigerator for something to eat; sitting at her desk while browsing the web; talking on the phone in her bedroom; laying out by the pool; and eating a bowl of cereal. In each image the woman is alone and looking away from the gaze of the camera. These were done purposefully in order to show the audience how distant we can become in our everyday activity. My aim was to portray how such mundane and almost automatic actions can have serious impacts on your life: distance and complacency. 
    By photographing such common activities like the ones previously mentioned, I hoped that viewers would relate and then be lead to question themselves as well as their motives for doing such things. Does constantly doing this task actually contribute positively to my life in the long run? Can I cut down the amount of times I do this?  Is this as important as spending my time doing something more tangible? Why is it that I always use that as a form of procrastination? With that said, while these set of photos can be viewed by anyone, the main aim is at the younger generation ranging from 13 - 24 years of age.  I truly desire for them to be inspired to change at least one aspect of their day-to-day and replace it with something that will push them beyond their boundaries.
   

[gallery]

For my final art piece this last term. This is the statement that went along with it.

Raw Talent Means Nothing If It’s Green
    Having been inspired by the everyday life of a typical teenager, I became curious about their common activities: texting, surfing the web, hanging out with friends, shopping, and “doing nothing.” The very idea that such a young person spends a good portion of their time invested in what society calls, menial was the notion that pushed me further into this project.
    Building a concept and then executing it was challenging. After I had come up with the idea, I became a bit frustrated because there were many avenues for me to take. Initially, my plans were to document a group of young adults - preferably teenagers - in their natural settings but as my research progressed I found that to be unnecessary. I did a bit of fieldwork by simply watching people and what they do, I went about asking teenagers to get a first-hand account, then I turned to the online articles to solidify my findings. It was not until I viewed the works of Darren Sylvester did I finally know exactly how to go about my proposed work. From there I looked at similar artists such as Tom Hussey, Lise Safati, and Abbas and found that with the proper use of color and camera angle I could  attain a precise look in my own images. Utilizing such components would force the viewer to see the pictures the way I desired them to.
     From the choice of scenes, I chose to set up tableaus of a young woman sleeping in her bed; rummaging through her refrigerator for something to eat; sitting at her desk while browsing the web; talking on the phone in her bedroom; laying out by the pool; and eating a bowl of cereal. In each image the woman is alone and looking away from the gaze of the camera. These were done purposefully in order to show the audience how distant we can become in our everyday activity. My aim was to portray how such mundane and almost automatic actions can have serious impacts on your life: distance and complacency. 
    By photographing such common activities like the ones previously mentioned, I hoped that viewers would relate and then be lead to question themselves as well as their motives for doing such things. Does constantly doing this task actually contribute positively to my life in the long run? Can I cut down the amount of times I do this?  Is this as important as spending my time doing something more tangible? Why is it that I always use that as a form of procrastination? With that said, while these set of photos can be viewed by anyone, the main aim is at the younger generation ranging from 13 - 24 years of age.  I truly desire for them to be inspired to change at least one aspect of their day-to-day and replace it with something that will push them beyond their boundaries.
   

[gallery]

For my final art piece this last term. This is the statement that went along with it.

Raw Talent Means Nothing If It’s Green
    Having been inspired by the everyday life of a typical teenager, I became curious about their common activities: texting, surfing the web, hanging out with friends, shopping, and “doing nothing.” The very idea that such a young person spends a good portion of their time invested in what society calls, menial was the notion that pushed me further into this project.
    Building a concept and then executing it was challenging. After I had come up with the idea, I became a bit frustrated because there were many avenues for me to take. Initially, my plans were to document a group of young adults - preferably teenagers - in their natural settings but as my research progressed I found that to be unnecessary. I did a bit of fieldwork by simply watching people and what they do, I went about asking teenagers to get a first-hand account, then I turned to the online articles to solidify my findings. It was not until I viewed the works of Darren Sylvester did I finally know exactly how to go about my proposed work. From there I looked at similar artists such as Tom Hussey, Lise Safati, and Abbas and found that with the proper use of color and camera angle I could  attain a precise look in my own images. Utilizing such components would force the viewer to see the pictures the way I desired them to.
     From the choice of scenes, I chose to set up tableaus of a young woman sleeping in her bed; rummaging through her refrigerator for something to eat; sitting at her desk while browsing the web; talking on the phone in her bedroom; laying out by the pool; and eating a bowl of cereal. In each image the woman is alone and looking away from the gaze of the camera. These were done purposefully in order to show the audience how distant we can become in our everyday activity. My aim was to portray how such mundane and almost automatic actions can have serious impacts on your life: distance and complacency. 
    By photographing such common activities like the ones previously mentioned, I hoped that viewers would relate and then be lead to question themselves as well as their motives for doing such things. Does constantly doing this task actually contribute positively to my life in the long run? Can I cut down the amount of times I do this?  Is this as important as spending my time doing something more tangible? Why is it that I always use that as a form of procrastination? With that said, while these set of photos can be viewed by anyone, the main aim is at the younger generation ranging from 13 - 24 years of age.  I truly desire for them to be inspired to change at least one aspect of their day-to-day and replace it with something that will push them beyond their boundaries.
   

[gallery]

For my final art piece this last term. This is the statement that went along with it.

Raw Talent Means Nothing If It’s Green
    Having been inspired by the everyday life of a typical teenager, I became curious about their common activities: texting, surfing the web, hanging out with friends, shopping, and “doing nothing.” The very idea that such a young person spends a good portion of their time invested in what society calls, menial was the notion that pushed me further into this project.
    Building a concept and then executing it was challenging. After I had come up with the idea, I became a bit frustrated because there were many avenues for me to take. Initially, my plans were to document a group of young adults - preferably teenagers - in their natural settings but as my research progressed I found that to be unnecessary. I did a bit of fieldwork by simply watching people and what they do, I went about asking teenagers to get a first-hand account, then I turned to the online articles to solidify my findings. It was not until I viewed the works of Darren Sylvester did I finally know exactly how to go about my proposed work. From there I looked at similar artists such as Tom Hussey, Lise Safati, and Abbas and found that with the proper use of color and camera angle I could  attain a precise look in my own images. Utilizing such components would force the viewer to see the pictures the way I desired them to.
     From the choice of scenes, I chose to set up tableaus of a young woman sleeping in her bed; rummaging through her refrigerator for something to eat; sitting at her desk while browsing the web; talking on the phone in her bedroom; laying out by the pool; and eating a bowl of cereal. In each image the woman is alone and looking away from the gaze of the camera. These were done purposefully in order to show the audience how distant we can become in our everyday activity. My aim was to portray how such mundane and almost automatic actions can have serious impacts on your life: distance and complacency. 
    By photographing such common activities like the ones previously mentioned, I hoped that viewers would relate and then be lead to question themselves as well as their motives for doing such things. Does constantly doing this task actually contribute positively to my life in the long run? Can I cut down the amount of times I do this?  Is this as important as spending my time doing something more tangible? Why is it that I always use that as a form of procrastination? With that said, while these set of photos can be viewed by anyone, the main aim is at the younger generation ranging from 13 - 24 years of age.  I truly desire for them to be inspired to change at least one aspect of their day-to-day and replace it with something that will push them beyond their boundaries.
   

[gallery]

In everything, I give it back to you and say thank you. Thank you God for the opportunities to love what I do and to do what I love. 

Sometimes when God blesses you it’s in such a way that it may be hard to notice at first but other times, when He wants to go all out you can’t help but stand in awe and say, “Why me?” 

Just a few days ago I finished my first term of grad school. Finals have been presented, papers have been handed in and I am done. I don’t know if God did this for me or maybe He didn’t but the fact that my last day fell on the exact year mark of me graduating college is something else. It makes me all the more thankful. It has forced me to put my life in perspective. I am so blessed. I can honestly look back and see more good in my life than bad. I see more purpose in my life than random actions strung together by nothing. I see that God has proved His love to me over and over again. Although He does not need to, He does not have to, He does! My past has brought me here and my future is going beyond what I thought possible.  I saw something yesterday that really resonated with me. It said, “Renew your strength by finding hope in God. You’ll find that what should happen naturally (exhaustion and weariness) will be replaced by what happens supernaturally (energy and vitality). To that, I also want to add more hope, excitement, determination, and positivity  -that’s what I have. He is the best thing to happen to me, to my life.

So now, you are probably wondering what does all that have to do with the pictures above. I took those photos earlier today in my first paid studio shoot. In the grand scale of things they represent my faith in Him, that He is doing something way greater than I could have planned for. A couple weeks ago I saw a “help wanted” sign asking for a photographer to shoot a few art pieces. Thinking nothing of it,  I passed by the sign but God told me to go back and contact them. My first reaction: “Ha that’s funny God. I couldn’t possibly do that. I’m not good enough.”

To which He then replied:

What about you says you are not good enough? Isn’t it I in you that makes you qualified for any position I place you in? For years you have sought me in prayer and asked me to give you the opportunities to do what you love. I set a path for you (He provided me with the money to get camera equipment and helped me get accepted into art school so I could hone my skills and interest for photography) and walked along it with you, but now that I have answered you, you call yourself unqualified. Who are you to lay such a heavy burden on yourself when I have already lifted it off? Who are you to doubt the creation I made, which is you.

In my most recent post I talked about my journey with God. In that same journey I am continually reminded that growth happens everyday and that no area in your life is free from it. I never realized that God could show me how to trust Him more by forcing me to not settle. He did it in my life and He can do it in yours if you let Him. 

Long story short, despite the fact that I thought I didn’t have the right equipment, didn’t think I was good enough, and had an immense fear for the new and unknown, God came through. Before and during the shoot He reminded me to stay calm and helped me to remember all the lessons on photography I have learned over the years.

At the end of it all, I learned that new, old, repeated or not, it is not us who brings the ability, it’s God.

*To see this series in its entirety, check out my portfolio.

[gallery]

In everything, I give it back to you and say thank you. Thank you God for the opportunities to love what I do and to do what I love. 

Sometimes when God blesses you it’s in such a way that it may be hard to notice at first but other times, when He wants to go all out you can’t help but stand in awe and say, “Why me?” 

Just a few days ago I finished my first term of grad school. Finals have been presented, papers have been handed in and I am done. I don’t know if God did this for me or maybe He didn’t but the fact that my last day fell on the exact year mark of me graduating college is something else. It makes me all the more thankful. It has forced me to put my life in perspective. I am so blessed. I can honestly look back and see more good in my life than bad. I see more purpose in my life than random actions strung together by nothing. I see that God has proved His love to me over and over again. Although He does not need to, He does not have to, He does! My past has brought me here and my future is going beyond what I thought possible.  I saw something yesterday that really resonated with me. It said, “Renew your strength by finding hope in God. You’ll find that what should happen naturally (exhaustion and weariness) will be replaced by what happens supernaturally (energy and vitality). To that, I also want to add more hope, excitement, determination, and positivity  -that’s what I have. He is the best thing to happen to me, to my life.

So now, you are probably wondering what does all that have to do with the pictures above. I took those photos earlier today in my first paid studio shoot. In the grand scale of things they represent my faith in Him, that He is doing something way greater than I could have planned for. A couple weeks ago I saw a “help wanted” sign asking for a photographer to shoot a few art pieces. Thinking nothing of it,  I passed by the sign but God told me to go back and contact them. My first reaction: “Ha that’s funny God. I couldn’t possibly do that. I’m not good enough.”

To which He then replied:

What about you says you are not good enough? Isn’t it I in you that makes you qualified for any position I place you in? For years you have sought me in prayer and asked me to give you the opportunities to do what you love. I set a path for you (He provided me with the money to get camera equipment and helped me get accepted into art school so I could hone my skills and interest for photography) and walked along it with you, but now that I have answered you, you call yourself unqualified. Who are you to lay such a heavy burden on yourself when I have already lifted it off? Who are you to doubt the creation I made, which is you.

In my most recent post I talked about my journey with God. In that same journey I am continually reminded that growth happens everyday and that no area in your life is free from it. I never realized that God could show me how to trust Him more by forcing me to not settle. He did it in my life and He can do it in yours if you let Him. 

Long story short, despite the fact that I thought I didn’t have the right equipment, didn’t think I was good enough, and had an immense fear for the new and unknown, God came through. Before and during the shoot He reminded me to stay calm and helped me to remember all the lessons on photography I have learned over the years.

At the end of it all, I learned that new, old, repeated or not, it is not us who brings the ability, it’s God.

*To see this series in its entirety, check out my portfolio.

[gallery]

In everything, I give it back to you and say thank you. Thank you God for the opportunities to love what I do and to do what I love. 

Sometimes when God blesses you it’s in such a way that it may be hard to notice at first but other times, when He wants to go all out you can’t help but stand in awe and say, “Why me?” 

Just a few days ago I finished my first term of grad school. Finals have been presented, papers have been handed in and I am done. I don’t know if God did this for me or maybe He didn’t but the fact that my last day fell on the exact year mark of me graduating college is something else. It makes me all the more thankful. It has forced me to put my life in perspective. I am so blessed. I can honestly look back and see more good in my life than bad. I see more purpose in my life than random actions strung together by nothing. I see that God has proved His love to me over and over again. Although He does not need to, He does not have to, He does! My past has brought me here and my future is going beyond what I thought possible.  I saw something yesterday that really resonated with me. It said, “Renew your strength by finding hope in God. You’ll find that what should happen naturally (exhaustion and weariness) will be replaced by what happens supernaturally (energy and vitality). To that, I also want to add more hope, excitement, determination, and positivity  -that’s what I have. He is the best thing to happen to me, to my life.

So now, you are probably wondering what does all that have to do with the pictures above. I took those photos earlier today in my first paid studio shoot. In the grand scale of things they represent my faith in Him, that He is doing something way greater than I could have planned for. A couple weeks ago I saw a “help wanted” sign asking for a photographer to shoot a few art pieces. Thinking nothing of it,  I passed by the sign but God told me to go back and contact them. My first reaction: “Ha that’s funny God. I couldn’t possibly do that. I’m not good enough.”

To which He then replied:

What about you says you are not good enough? Isn’t it I in you that makes you qualified for any position I place you in? For years you have sought me in prayer and asked me to give you the opportunities to do what you love. I set a path for you (He provided me with the money to get camera equipment and helped me get accepted into art school so I could hone my skills and interest for photography) and walked along it with you, but now that I have answered you, you call yourself unqualified. Who are you to lay such a heavy burden on yourself when I have already lifted it off? Who are you to doubt the creation I made, which is you.

In my most recent post I talked about my journey with God. In that same journey I am continually reminded that growth happens everyday and that no area in your life is free from it. I never realized that God could show me how to trust Him more by forcing me to not settle. He did it in my life and He can do it in yours if you let Him. 

Long story short, despite the fact that I thought I didn’t have the right equipment, didn’t think I was good enough, and had an immense fear for the new and unknown, God came through. Before and during the shoot He reminded me to stay calm and helped me to remember all the lessons on photography I have learned over the years.

At the end of it all, I learned that new, old, repeated or not, it is not us who brings the ability, it’s God.

*To see this series in its entirety, check out my portfolio.

[gallery]

In everything, I give it back to you and say thank you. Thank you God for the opportunities to love what I do and to do what I love. 

Sometimes when God blesses you it’s in such a way that it may be hard to notice at first but other times, when He wants to go all out you can’t help but stand in awe and say, “Why me?” 

Just a few days ago I finished my first term of grad school. Finals have been presented, papers have been handed in and I am done. I don’t know if God did this for me or maybe He didn’t but the fact that my last day fell on the exact year mark of me graduating college is something else. It makes me all the more thankful. It has forced me to put my life in perspective. I am so blessed. I can honestly look back and see more good in my life than bad. I see more purpose in my life than random actions strung together by nothing. I see that God has proved His love to me over and over again. Although He does not need to, He does not have to, He does! My past has brought me here and my future is going beyond what I thought possible.  I saw something yesterday that really resonated with me. It said, “Renew your strength by finding hope in God. You’ll find that what should happen naturally (exhaustion and weariness) will be replaced by what happens supernaturally (energy and vitality). To that, I also want to add more hope, excitement, determination, and positivity  -that’s what I have. He is the best thing to happen to me, to my life.

So now, you are probably wondering what does all that have to do with the pictures above. I took those photos earlier today in my first paid studio shoot. In the grand scale of things they represent my faith in Him, that He is doing something way greater than I could have planned for. A couple weeks ago I saw a “help wanted” sign asking for a photographer to shoot a few art pieces. Thinking nothing of it,  I passed by the sign but God told me to go back and contact them. My first reaction: “Ha that’s funny God. I couldn’t possibly do that. I’m not good enough.”

To which He then replied:

What about you says you are not good enough? Isn’t it I in you that makes you qualified for any position I place you in? For years you have sought me in prayer and asked me to give you the opportunities to do what you love. I set a path for you (He provided me with the money to get camera equipment and helped me get accepted into art school so I could hone my skills and interest for photography) and walked along it with you, but now that I have answered you, you call yourself unqualified. Who are you to lay such a heavy burden on yourself when I have already lifted it off? Who are you to doubt the creation I made, which is you.

In my most recent post I talked about my journey with God. In that same journey I am continually reminded that growth happens everyday and that no area in your life is free from it. I never realized that God could show me how to trust Him more by forcing me to not settle. He did it in my life and He can do it in yours if you let Him. 

Long story short, despite the fact that I thought I didn’t have the right equipment, didn’t think I was good enough, and had an immense fear for the new and unknown, God came through. Before and during the shoot He reminded me to stay calm and helped me to remember all the lessons on photography I have learned over the years.

At the end of it all, I learned that new, old, repeated or not, it is not us who brings the ability, it’s God.

*To see this series in its entirety, check out my portfolio.

This one is for you Pops.

My father is a man who knows his words. It has nothing to do with his vocabulary because he knows just as many as the next man. His ability to construct a good sentence does not come from his time spent in school. What many fail to grasp is that a captivating and respected tongue derives from the moments in between each conversation, each sentence, and each word. It comes from the demeanor of the being and the expressions shown upon their face.

Last night my dad sat on the couch next to me and simply asked, “In all reality, what is it that you wish to do in the next few years?” Any child that recently graduated college would have felt the heat and built up a defense stronger than Fort Knox but this time, it was different. The look in his eyes was that of a father who only wanted the best for his daughter and that, that right there made me to do something I have never done before: tell the truth.
 You see, I have never told the truth about my dreams because with everyone who asked there was always a hint of sympathy. “You can do all you set your mind on but…” “That’s a great ambition, why don’t you try it this way.” Replies similar to those helped me to form the very best “lies”. I started telling people what I thought they wanted to hear.”I want to do photography but don’t worry, that’s not the only thing I wish to do with my time.”
To my dad though, I simply replied, “I want to do photography.” Literally, no if, ands, or buts. And to my somewhat surprise he paused, looked up and then back at me to say okay. In that silence I knew I had gained his approval. Those few seconds of quietness rung louder than any other artificial validation I have ever received before. We then proceeded to talk about the many avenues photography has to offer. He asked me about the specifics and also had a few general questions. All things from someone who sincerely cared would care to ask.
Pops, you know the absence of your approval has never deterred me from the things I do. It’s called tenacity mixed in with a bit of stubbornness; I get if from you. However, now that I know I truly have it, it means the world to me. I can go forth with assurance and a little more gusto than I previously did before.
Ese baba mi. I love you.

I had the pleasure of attending and photographing my cousin’s wedding. It was such a beautiful ceremony, in both the areas of weather and ascetics. I truly wish them all the best and pray that God blesses them with many, many, many more years to come. (It almost made me consider a December wedding but then I remembered I live in Oregon).

Port of Folio

You know when you were little and you finished a project and thought it was the craftiest and coolest thing in the world only to look back later and question how you ever passed it off as completed? Yeah, long story short, I’m redoing my online portfolio.

I think I have redone it and repositioned the layout about one thousand times over. Yay for perfection right?

Here is a little snippet of what I’ve got cooking in the kitchen (okay, more like a kitchenette but whatever).

18. Part of the Privileged People

Being a photographer for the Lundquist College of Business Undergrad CEO Network has made me one the most privileged people here at the University of Oregon.

In my years here at the U of O I have come to realize that some of the most important people -in my eyes - that I have met are the ones who I at first thought were the least important. Keep in mind that I am in the Advertising program but I work for the Business program. Even though they each lie on two different levels, I can say that I have learned just as much from the Business side as I have from the Ad side. With all the events that I have worked at I find myself making connections with financial advisers/planners, accountants, auditors, financial analysts, etc on such a deeper level than expected. Being differently oriented in our careers forces me to make mental venn digrams and find out what we all have in common. As for the things we do not, I can still learn from them. Just because they are different does not mean I should end all contact right after our first conversation.

Today, I shot for the Portland Leadership Experience where the students of the CEO Network participated in a site visits to many companies. We traveled to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Rubicon International, and amongst a few others the, Multnomah Athletic Club.

While taking pictures, I found myself bumping elbows with some of the most interesting people. However, it was one man that really stuck out to me the most. His name is Lou Radja.  Maybe it was the fact that he is an international speaker or maybe he has the power to see into people’s minds and is able to tell them what they really need to hear based on that, who knows?  He said:

 Remember your “why” - Why are you doing what you are currently doing in life? After you have gotten and understood that, do not forget it. That WHY will be there to comfort you when nothing else does, when the bills are becoming too much, or when you simply want to call in sick that day.

Commit to the work before the work. Do not just say I will prepare when I get there, NO! Prepare now. He compared it to that of the Olympics, Hundreds of athletes arrive at the location at least a month beforehand but that is not the first time they are practicing. Yes, you might get away with reviewing minutes before a test but try that at work and see how long they keep ya around.

Going off of that point, the real world does not start after college. THIS is real life. You are making the choices that will indeed impact tomorrow. The choices you make now are the same you will make later. It’s not as though your mind will all of a sudden morph into professional and responsible mode once you toss your cap and tassel into the air.

Doing the required makes you replaceable. Anyone else can do what is expected, what can you do that is different, that is more?

Chase passion before pension - Money tends to hide from those who search for it. Have fun, love your work and money will come soon enough.

Patients go to the doctor, the doctor does not go to the patient. In this world, if you want something you gotta go declare it and grab it. No one is going to take time out of their day to try and read your mind on what you want and then give it to you. See a job, go ask for it. They’re not hiring, say you’ll volunteer. They have a full staff, tell them you’ll just watch.

When you take the elevator to the top always remember to send it back down for someone else. Never ever keep the elevator to yourself because 1. You don’t need it once you’re up there  2. 100% without a doubt, if every person before you did that, you would still be in the basement.

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Not many people can do what they love and learn about life at the same time. Even those who are blessed with that do not give way to the possibility of opening your eyes to the new. I love my job and I am definitely sad to leave in a few weeks but excited for all the open doors it has given me the chance to walk through.