A Trip to the Park

I was never an artist. Not by the standards I grew up knowing "art" as. Hand me a pencil and I can write my name. That's about as much skill as I have with a writing utensil. But, if you give me a sheet of music or a camera, the term "artist" becomes everything I represent.

My friend and I took a trip to the greenhouse of a local park. I was inspired. When she first told me of her desire for adventure, my first (and only) question was, "can I bring my camera?" I craved satiating the negative energy I had pent up by exchanging it with creative energy. And that's just what I did.

Everyone has a story to tell. I love listening to other people's stories. I love venturing my curiosities into other cultures or lifestyles so I can see from a different perspective. I love being able to empower another to share their story. That's what this is for me.

You can call me crazy. I talk to flowers. But they talk back in ways that my camera can't capture. I can get pretty doggone close if you ask me, but to accurately portray the song of the petals and the dance of their aroma is beyond digital experience.

I don't know that I enjoy telling my story as much as I enjoy hearing others' stories. Which rings true for my position in relation to a lens. I tell my story if people ask, but no one usually does. I feel more natural being the listener than being the speaker. It's a good thing the world has so much to say.

The funny thing about being behind the lens is what you choose to see the beauty in. Some artists choose people, others choose places.

I love hearing stories. Real stories - I'm not really a fan of fiction. I think that's why I enjoy hearing about other people's lives. What they've been through, however big or small they may think it, is important. It's made them who they are today, so clearly it's valuable.

It's pretty common knowledge that without three essential things, flowers can't grow:

1) Soil

2) Water

3) Sunshine

Without soil, a flower has nothing to dig its roots into. It has no security, no belief it will be sustained. People need the same thing. Without security, assurance, consistency, people wither.

Water can provide life or death. The rain beats down, threatening the livelihood of survival of these fragile flowers. But without the rain, the flowers would die of thirst.

It seems a human necessity that we have struggles. We have storms of life. The rain beats us to the ground and we don't think we can get up. But we don't drown. We learn that the rain doesn't always have to destroy us - it can give us life and satiate our thirst. Sometimes, we don't even realize we're dehydrated until we take in that first gulp of humility.

Sunshine. It's finally spring and it's lovely to see the sun more often than grey clouds. I don't know about you, but when it's winter, I get really impatient for summer. I love the warmth. The sunshine is beautiful and comforting. It produces food and energy. But it can also scorch and steal away nutrients.

We need the sun, but we also need the rain. The good in our life is good for a while, but without some struggle, we could never grow.

Their colors are so incredibly unique. Even those that look similar can't ever be the same.

So it is with YOU. You can compare yourself to everyone else in the world, but no one will ever be as good of a "you" as you will. Stop comparing yourself, because you're ALL beautiful in your own special way. No one is more or less lovely than you.

The only perfect flowers are the ones that are made in a factory with polyester and plastic. Every real flower has a real struggle to survive, a time to grow, a point where they're at their most beautiful, and times when they feel a bit wilted.

But when you examine each one in a bunch, you'll find they all have their flaws, but when you put even the most different of them together, you can create something extravagantly beautiful.

People really aren't so different from flowers after all...

And this is Kacie. She's a Disney Princess. I'm not kidding. She's one of my favorite people. We met in choir my first year at SFCC. We've sung in Carnegie Hall, Grand Central Station, Pike Place Market, in the car, and various other locations... No big deal or anything.