Some moments simply carry you away to a place free from the manmade world, free from worry, conflict or confusion, free from the past and the future. This place for me is often found in nature. I simply cannot experience anything but the present moment when I turn my face up to the suddenly warm sun, feeling the fragrant buds of spring tickling my nose and breathing in the rebirth of this joyous season. Ahhhh....spring is here!
My father used to hide under the covers with a flashlight as a little boy, exploring the world he longed to know. I've never met anyone who has read as many books as this man, and the many custom designed libraries built in the many homes he's lived in over the years can attest to that fact. As a little girl I would spend hours in the library of our first home, pacing the 70's style rug as I perused the touring mahogany shelves that stretched from floor to ceiling. At one point I even made my own library cards out of construction paper and stapled pockets in the front covers of all my favorite books so the other members of my family could check them out of "the library." That's a story in and of itself. The point is, as I sit on my couch at night going back and forth between the two books I'm currently reading, I realize that my father's desire to learn more about himself and the world around him lives on in his offspring...and to me, that's a beautiful thing. I am a bottomless pit for information, always longing for more, always seeking to better myself. Thanks dad...I wouldn't want to live any other way.
Today I stood in the lobby of my apartment building, still sweating from my workout, hair pulled back in a wavy mess more resembling a nest than anything, when my fiance surprised me with flowers. It was at that moment I felt blessed....not solely on account of my extraordinary, constantly thoughtful, enormously loving partner in life, but for a lifetime of receiving flowers. My father set the bar relatively high when it comes to lavishing his daughter with trinkets of love and floral gestures. But today I was struck by the power a flower has to make a girl, even swathed in her sweaty gym clothes, feel like a lady. 
My passion for photography originates in the overwhelming longing and admiration I feel for that which is authentic in life. It's quite difficult to experience this in an adult as their authenticity has been buried under layers of years and fears. What we get from other people is mostly a facade, especially when you put a camera in front of them. There is a certain anxiety most of us seem to feel as we hear that shutter open and close....what imperfection could be immortalized? What might I show that I'd rather keep a secret? 
There's something uniquely fascinating about watching public figures in action. Not necessarily when they are "on," but the moments behind the scenes. I have never felt a line separating myself from those who live in the public eye so I don't experience a physical or psychological reaction to their presence. To me, they are only human beings and the fascinating part is simply observing how these individuals live in the space of "famous." It seems we have a skewed interpretation of what that means thanks to our media obsessed culture. But it's not the scandal or secrets I myself look to extract from my observations, it's the things that make us all the same that I am drawn toward. 
I don't believe in coincidences. I do believe that if you pay attention to the wisdom and intelligence both within you and surrounding you, you will hear the messages and see the path that is meant for you. It's impossible for me to ignore this fact because I spend my life paying attention. On this particular day, walking down the sidewalks of Burlington, Vermont, I found myself struggling to adjust to the new (amazing and fulfilling!) life I have created. Change is rattling for human beings, even the most wonderful of changes, because it is not only felt by you but by all those around you as well...as I am quite aware of lately. But each moment I face in this transition that feels like a struggle, a message appears whether in the form of an unexpected phone call from a friend, one simple sentence spoken to me by my lover that is equal to what you could accomplish in 10 years of therapy, a sudden epiphany that clicks instantly things into place......or words splattered across a brick wall in chalk that I was lucky enough to happen upon before the rain washed them away. That's not a coincidence....at least not in my world. 
