Catching Up

I've been wanting to write a new post for a while.  I have a lot of new pictures that I want to share.  I also really wanted to have something profound to say to go along with them.  I've come to realize, however, that when you try to be profound, you rarely, if ever, are.  That, like so many other things, can not be forced.  So, instead of writing some grand, earth-moving entry, I'm just going to post my pictures and write as I go along and see what happens.  Spontaneity is more fun anyway.

I guess the real first thing of significance that I've been wanting to write about has been my experience reading The Hunger Games.  I earned my Master's also, but sadly, that wasn't as life affirming as reading those books.  They were incredible.  I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved the way nothing ever happened the way I expected it to, and I loved the way the books made me think.  Definitely the best series I've read since Harry Potter.  My sister had been trying to convince me to read them for ages, but for some reason, I was reluctant.  I'd seen the trailer for the movie and thought it looked weird and sci-fi-ish.  If you know me at all, you know science fiction really isn't my thing.  I've never even seen the original Star Wars trilogy (I kind of want to, but Yoda really freaks me out).

Anyway, once the Hunger Games movie came out, my sister told me I was not allowed to see the movie until I'd read the books.  I picked up the first one, read the first chapter, and thought, "Wow, this is depressing.  I don't like this at all."  My sister just told me I had to keep reading.  I ended up reading all three books in two days.  They were fantastic.  I was amazed that I could love a book series so much and not envy the characters one bit.  Usually when I read a really good book, I think something like, "Wow, I wish I could go to Hogwarts."  Not with the Hunger Games.  No one in their right mind would ever want to live in a place like Panem.  That's not to say, however, that I didn't have a fantastic time running around a bunch of nature preserves with my camera and pretending that I was actually Katniss and that my camera was a bow. 

... I'm cool, I swear. 

   

The second thing I've been wanting to blog about is the Pilgrimage to Scotland that my sister and I took with our church last summer.  I've been wanting to write it for a while, but every time I try, I get really nostalgic and end up eating chocolate and listening to The Lord of the Rings soundtrack on repeat.  So I guess there was really no point to this little paragraph.  

Finally, I've really been wanting to write about the future.  Not my plans really, but more about the things I've learned trying to figure everything out.  I realize, however, that that topic has the potential to get really deep and depressing and that's not what I want for this blog.  This is a photography blog.  It's supposed to be bright and colorful and fun; a place to escape the turmoil and pressure of the real world.  Then again, it is comforting to know that you aren't alone in Limbo.  I know a lot of people, myself included, are working on finding their place in the world.  It can be confusing and stressful, and more than often I find myself wondering what the heck I think I'm doing.             

I'd like to end this entry, not only with an egret flying off to new metaphorical horizons, but with a Bible verse.  Specifically, the verse my class selected to be our senior verse during out last year of high school.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 4: 6-7 

*All photographs © copyright by Jacqueline E. Smith.