From Portland, Oregon to Sydney, Australia

This time last year I was a 21-year-old girl with two suitcases to her name and a head full of dreams. Today I’m still that same girl, only I’m 22, those suitcases are now unpacked with the belongings settled in my closet, and that head of mine now has bigger dreams.

These last 12 months have been such a whirlwind of emotions, thoughts, and actions. I’m finding it quite difficult to actually sum up everything I’ve been through to present to you guys in a cute little package. However, as I write this, the song Oceans by Hillsong comes to mind.

For all the countless times this song has been played and the  of hundreds of  others that it has been quoted on one blog or another, I am sure that with each one this song has held a different meaning.

_______________________________

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine”

_______________________________

My year has been nothing like I planned or hoped but with that said, it has actually been far better and greater than I imagined. Never would I have imagined myself leading a small campus youth group while en route to becoming a campus minister (Don’t let the title scare you There are no tight white collars and lack of colors around here). I surely would not have seen myself befriending the people I have today - not because of who they are but because of who I was. Lastly, amongst many other unmentioned things, everyday I seem to fall in love with God and His grace a bit more than I think to be possible.

As easy as it was to list all those things that I have been blessed with, getting them was not. I’ve had my fair share of troubles and doubts, times where all I wanted to do was run back home, travel back in time and pretend that my problems were not my own. However, I couldn’t and the the realization that I couldn’t was painful and surprisingly tiring.

Australia is not some place where you go and the sun shines ever yday, life is  easy and full. It is not the place where your dreams come true… unless you will it to be. For a good portion of this last year, I relied solely on the fact that I had moved to AUSTRALIA! , and that living here would all of a sudden make my life cool and complete. But like any unstable foundation, that excuse started to crumble. God showed me that even the greenest of grasses can turn brown without Him. The most beautiful places on earth are mere smudges without His guiding hand to help you see.

That is one of the biggest lessons I have learned this year. I think God brought me to this exact place to help me realize that. It took a lot of hard work on my part and unreasonable amounts of patience, grace, love, and understanding on His to get me to this permanent mindset.

So whether this next year brings me back Oregon rain or keeps me under Sydney sun, I know I am going to be okay and even more grateful for any position I am put in.

Lastly, to all who were with me from the beginning or even yesterday; if you read a blog post or all of them; encouraged me; missed sleep because of the crazy Australia-America time difference just to give me an ear to talk to; dished out advice or a mouthful of prayer; if you are family, friends, or just an acquittance; whatever hand you put in or fingerprint you left upon my life I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. This journey and my life would not be the same without you. The blessings you all have been to me, I pray the same for you 100 fold. I love you guys.

[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.
   

see the world.

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of traveling. I may take a break from it every once in a while just to get re-rooted again but I’ll never get tired of it. My love for traveling was instilled in me ever since I was a kid. I can remember my mom packing my siblings and me up just to get out of town. So whether it was a trip to the next state for a weekend or a week, I always enjoyed the adventure. Not to mention, I’ve lived in 3 different countries ( Nigeria, Australia, and America) over the span of my 21 years.

However, now that I have grown up a bit I’ve recently come to fall in love with traveling alone. It’s an extremely peaceful experience. While there are many opportunities for me to meet new and interesting people, I also love the chance I get to sit back and observe all the various things that take place around me.

On most my recent flight (from Oregon to Sydney) I was blessed to have a day layover in Honolulu, Hawaii - I wasn’t able to make it to any beaches but I still had a great time. I walked about the town, did a little shopping, ate at a place called Fatboy’s, and then retired to my room.

Although all hotels basically look the same, just knowing I was in a new environment made me awe at the realization that there are things out there we have yet to see, hear, and feel - we have so much to discover.

These are some pictures inside the The Pagoda hotel.