a year in review {two thousand eleven}

It's December 31st, 2011 (say what?) and somehow the year is already drawing to an end.



2011 was long, short, crazy, and interesting. As well as other things, it was filled with a change of towns, a change of schools, and new beginnings. It was the year I bought my first DSLR, started this blog, went on a trip, and learned how to enjoy the simple things. I turned another year older, took an endless amount of pictures, and stayed up far too late to watch the sunrise. I had photoshoots with friends, complained about how quickly time is passing, and just a few days ago, celebrated this wonderful holiday season with my family.

No matter how hard this year was for me and my family, when I look back through old posts, I can't help but feel thankful and grateful for the wonderful year of memories, and even more importantly, I don't regret anything. I know that to grow as a person you need to be challenged, and I most certainly was. It sounds cliche and maybe even a little strange, but I'm glad that these hurdles were put in front of me this year, because I am now stronger than I have ever been.

2012 will without a doubt be a big year for me. I mean, it's not every year a girl turns sixteen, gets her license, gets her first job or takes a trip to New York. I have a feeling that I'll grow next year just as much as I have this one.



Whatever else 2012 will bring, I am so ready for it!

Happy New Year's Friends!

xoxo - hope

christmas

It's 10:44 11:13 PM 12:34 AM and my thoughts are jumbled. These past few days have been amazing! Being with family and eating good food never fails to make me happy, and when you throw in some presents here or there? Well then.

I love this time of year.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas filled with love, laughter, joy, and most importantly, family! :)

xoxo - hope

confessions

1. I don’t know where it came from, or why I feel this way, but I feel like me and life share a secret. I feel like life is all about understanding. As long as you understand, you’ll be able to get through anything.

2. My life isn’t all lollipops and rainbows. Sometimes I feel like people think it is because I almost always have a smile on my face. That smile is there simply because being upset bothers me. For the majority of the time I’m a happy person. 

3. I am strong. People under-estimate my capabilities because I cry very easily. Crying helps me clear my head and helps me cope. It isn't me being weak, it’s me trying to find strength.

4. I love to make people laugh. I love to spread joy, happiness, and love. I love to make people feel loved and accepted. 

5. One of my greatest goals is to inspire someone. I am so often inspired by other people’s stories, photographs, or words, and hope that I’ll be able to inspire someone in return. 

6. My dad was an alcoholic and it affects me more than I let people know. Because of it, he was never a huge part of my life, and to be honest, growing up without a dad sucks. That’s all there is to it.

7. I love my family. We’re psycho, loud, obnoxious, and crazy. We fight a lot, and we have more problems than you can count on two hands. But we are all very close, and we know how to love.

8. I am 100% comfortable with who I am as an individual. Sometimes I get self-conscious of my body and my looks, but I am proud of who I am. 

9. The only person I judge by appearance is myself.

10. Photography is a big part of who I am. It’s a way to express myself, and it’s refreshing to finally have something I am good at. 

11. I can be really smart if I try. 

12. I like hanging out and talking with adults more than people my own age. I sometimes feel as if I’m an adult myself. With that being said, I also often enjoy being an immature teenager.

13. I wish people would have more respect for themselves. Girls shouldn't feel the need to disrespect themselves to feel loved. “If you can’t handle me at my worst, you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best."


14. I believe that if someone compliments you, you need to accept it. If I call you beautiful and you say “yeah right”, I most likely won’t do it again.


15. I believe that respecting your elders is key. Most teenagers these days have lost respect, and it bothers me to see how some of them treat their parents, teachers, or other elders.


16. It terrifies me how fast I’m growing up. I mean, in less than three years I’ll be finishing high school. It astounds me how quickly time flies. 


17. I have several people in my family who struggle with addiction, and due to it, I have never, and will never drink, do drugs, or smoke. Life is too precious to waste.


18. I had no idea that my teenage years would be so full of emotion.


19. I feel accepted in my group of friends. I don’t feel like an outsider, and for that, I love them.


20. It doesn't matter what race, gender, sexuality, or religion you are. If you’re nice to me, I’ll be nice to you. Simple as that. 


21. Proper grammar makes me happy.


22. Sometimes I’m glad that I’m not the prettiest or most popular girl in my school. It just proves to me that people like me for who I really am.


23. I’m a dreamer. When I graduate, I hope to travel around Europe.


24. I feel like I can do anything. I want to make a difference in this world, and I feel that I am capable of doing it. Maybe I'm naive, or maybe I'm just strong-willed.


25. It rarely affects me when people call me names, tease me, or are rude to me. I will not stoop to their level.


26. I'm obsessed with way to many internet sites. Facebook, Hotmail, Blogger, Flickr, Tumblr, Twitter, & Pinterest are all visited several times a day.


27. My life is confusing. Maybe I'll share my story some day.


28. I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. Believing in this has helped me get through so many of my struggles.


29. I wear my heart on my sleeve. What you see is what you get.


30. I love life. I simply love it.

xoxo - hope

yesterday

I've been at my best friend Madi's house since Saturday, and yesterday, we met up with her boyfriend to hang out. We took a stroll down to the water front and goofed around on Madi's long board which maybe wasn't such a great idea, because I now have a very swollen sprained ankle that I can barely walk on, and many, many sore muscles. Despite the injuries, we had a great day! :)

Side note: all pictures are taken with Madi's moms camera (Canon Rebel XS) and are un-edited because I'm lazy and am in pain, so I apologize for that! ;)


Also, I'm a little late, but the winners of my last giveaway are listed below! :) If you have won please contact me ASAP! :)


#1,  winner of an 8x10 Print Of Your Choice From Keri Bevan Photography is... Kelsey!
#2, winner of the Set Of Four "Whimsical Owl Cards" With Envelopes From The Owl And The Envelope is... Madi!
#3, winner of the "When Pigs Can Fly" Brooch From MyPipSqueak is... Francesca!
#4, winner of an 8x10 Print Of Your Choice From Eeebee & Jack is... Rachel!

xoxo - hope

it's time for celebration

I haven't posted in over a week, and I feel kinda bad. But, it is the holiday season, and I've been doing my best to celebrate. Take a look;

Today was also my last day of school until January 3rd! Can I get a booya?! 

What about you guys? Are you on winter break yet?

xoxo - hope

busy, busy, busy

 It's December the 7th, and there are 8 days left until my winter vacation. Life, in these past few weeks, has been crazy, and now, in these past few days, even more so. I've been spending the majority of my time doing homework, preparing for exams, working, and sleeping, which unfortunately, leaves very little time to photograph or blog. In fact, except for my little photoshoot with the boys on Sunday, and getting out my camera to take some pictures of our Christmas tree (those are coming soon) and some muffins I made last Wednesday, my camera has had a nice, relaxing break for these past two weeks.

Between being behind in schoolwork, spending the majority of my free time working, and looking at new places to live, I'm beginning to get a little stressed out. But, during this holiday season I can't help to be thankful, and even if times are hard, I am still happy and grateful that I am in a much better place then I was just over two weeks ago.

I'll hopefully be back to shooting soon, and although I can't make any promises, I'll try my best to have some new pictures in my next post! :) 

I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely holiday season! Tell me, what have you been up to?

xoxo - hope

i heart faces | on your feet

I haven't entered nearly as many I Heart Faces photo challenges as I would have liked in 2011, so I'm hopefully going to change that in 2012! Yes, I'm already thinking of New Year's Resolutions! :)

Anyways, here's my entry for this weeks theme, "on your feet"!

xoxo - hope

the boys

I had a mini photoshoot today with the two year old twin boys I babysit and had a blast! I'm keeping it a surprise from their mom and am planning to get some printed for a Christmas present.

Needless to say, two year old twin boys are c-r-a-z-y! I had a hard time getting shots of the two of them together, so it's mostly just pictures of them individually! :) 

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What do you think? Can you help me choose some to get printed for their momma? :)

xoxo - hope