[ Sigma 18-50mm lens ]

It was this time last year when I gave myself the goal “if I want to try something—just try it!”. I wanted to push aside my anxiety, and my fear of failure. A big part of that dealt with being more proactive and more creative with my blog. I’ve always been blogging, whether on tumblr or way back during xanga/livejournal days, and I wanted my blog to grow with me. If change hasn’t reflected in my blog, I can honestly say it has in my life.

It was this time last year when I gave myself the goal to try, and I have.

Photography: I picked up a camera. I experimented with different ones, via my college’s art department or with my dad’s, and was able to replace elements of my blog with real photos, photos I took. My blog became less of collection of random thoughts, rants, and reblogs and became a more cohesive tool for me to share my life with my family and friends as well as strangers.

Outfit posts: I stood in front of the camera. This part was hard—I felt silly and embarrassed. But I liked this aspect of blogging and wanted to try doing it for my blog. I started with a old snapshot camera and a tripod in a corner of my room. Then one afternoon Chris offered to help. Day after day, I slowly realized that I looked forward to putting outfits together—finding multiple ways to style something I’d usually only wear a one or two ways—and posting them. It was freeing. Whether I received lots or little feedback, somehow the mix of blogging and posting outfits I was becoming more comfortable in my skin and more importantly—becoming comfortable with trying new things.

School/Grades: I wanted a 4.0 for the fall semester. Something I had never gotten in college and I wanted to strive for it my senior year. I buckled down, hard. I said no to invites, missed (some) family occasions and lots of down time with Chris. I spent game days and long weekends in the library. I took 18 hours for the fall semester. I took 18 hours and got 5 A’s and 2 B’s. A 3.7! It wasn’t my goal, but given the amount of work I put into the semester—it almost felt like a 4.0

So thanks to my dad who gave me his camera for Christmas. Thanks to my family who came together and decided to buy me this new lens. Thanks to my readers and those who comment. I’d do this blog if I had no followers, but it means so much that I have support from you all.