Well..life is still moving. Quickly. And in the right direction! Lately, I have been busier then ever, but with doing things I love. I spend a huge majority of my time photographing, volunteering, and spending time with my favorite person in the entire world! During the summer the clinic I work at slows down a lot. It seems that kids don't get sick very often during the summer, and the doctors I work for like to take time off to vacation and spend more time with their families during the warm summer months. Because of this I have been scheduled to work at my job 1 to 2 days a week, if even that. I was really worried at first because, like anyone else, I have bills to pay. But instead of stressing, I kept my chin up with a smile on my face and went on doing what I loved..photography. I have gotten so busy this summer with photoshoots that it has become a pain to go to work at the clinic only once a week. Of course I still love my job and will hold on to it for the winter months, but I am happy I am able to experience the life of a full time photographer for a while. Depending on how the winder months go, maybe I will be a full time photographer starting next year!
I feel I have been branching out a little more with my photography. Normally, the majority of what I photograph are weddings, families, things like that. Lately I have been photographing a lot of fun events. I have even gotten a lot of amazing opprotunities to photograph for Ivory Homes. I absolutely love what I do, and can't wait to see what the future brings! And no matter what happens, or how hard things get, I know that if I keep being my happy little self good things will keep coming my way. I think the biggest lesson I have learned in this past year is that it really is up to you if you want to be happy or not. Once you just decide to be, you will be, and life is so much more awesome! It's just that easy.
Because I have had a little more time on my hands recently, I decided to do something worth while. I started volunteering at the Ching Farm Rescue and Sanctuary a few weeks ago. It's a sanctuary farm where animals can live out their lives how they should, happy and well taken care of. All the animals there (and there are lots of them) have been rescued or abandoned. It's so sad to think about, especially once you get to know them because their personalities really start to show. They are all different from one another and it's very easy to fall in love with each animal there. It's also a lot of hard work. A lot of walking, climbing and lifting in the hot sun, but I have never gotten a better workout! I find it a lot of fun and plan to keep going back.
I had never known there was such thing as an animal sanctuary farm until I watched a documentary called Vegucated. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out, it's on Netflix. I have always been into being healthy and everything, but after watching this documentary I changed my life drastically. It really makes you aware of not only the problems with the food industry, but with the earth as well. If you care at all about any of that, or yourself, please, just take a look. I was vegitarian for some time, then after seeing this documentary I went completely vegan. I have been vegan now for about a couple of months and it really isn't as hard as it seems. I'm not going to lie, in the beginning I did cheat a little bit. But to be honest, since I have been sticking to a strictly vegan diet I have felt so much better. I have also made new friends and have eaten some of the best food I have ever tasted in my entire life. I recently went to the Pride Festival in Salt Lake City and came across a PETA stand and spoke with them quite a bit. This is how I became aware of the Ching Farm Rescue and Sanctuary and found out that they really needed my help. If anyone out there is interested in volunteering you can read more about them on their website, www.chingsanctuary.org.
..I am in the process of moving..again. I know, I know, I just can't seem to stay in the same place for very long. This time I am downsizing even further, if that is even possible. I am moving from my cozy, little studio apartment to my boyfriends cozy, little room. I will be the only girl sharing a house with 4 boys. I have no problem getting rid of anything, except for my clothes, and sharing a little closet is not something I am used to. I can do this...I can. It will be a great thing and I am excited for this move! ..now how to girlify a guys room..hmmm.
