Hello, and welcome to my blog!
I'm
very new to the blogging world...(can you tell?) Over the last few
years, I have watched many of my friends and family pick up on the trend
of blogging, and even as I attempted to start my own blog...or two...I
just couldn't really get into it, and I didn't know why. Each of the
blogs that I make a point of following are manned by dedicated authors
who also run busy, beautiful lives that they are determined to document,
and do so in a seemingly effortless way. Now, even though I often find
myself envying others in some way or another, I try very hard to keep
myself focused on the blessings I have in my own life. But I have to
say...I have been jealous! Jealous of these amazing women and their
ability to keep up with their full lives and still make the time and
effort to keep the world up to date on their activities. I mean, here I
am, a stay-at-home Mom with a wild and adorable 2 year old boy. My
husband works a lot of hours and I'm responsible for keeping our busy
lives running, nice and smooth, in the cleanest way possible. I am much
like many of my blogging pals and yet I just haven't been able to get
with the program! It's a new world, and I've been trying desperately to
find a way that I fit into it.
And
then, as one of my friends (who has recently started her own blog) was
telling me about her blog and about how excited and passionate she is
about where it is going and the future she has in store for her new blog
baby, I realized...she is obsessed with what she is doing! She is obsessed with fashion, with her life. She is obsessed with writing and
that makes her passionate about what she is doing. Well, that got me
thinking...but then I got distracted and the subject faded into the
depths of my cluttered mind.
But
as the days passed and I continued to spend my son's naps browsing
blogs and the many pages of Pinterest, I started to think about what I
am passionate about...
...my
son, Aden. I am passionate about him and his little life! I am one of
the proudest Mommies around. I even look forward to telling anyone and
everyone of all of his crazy, toddler boy antics.
...my
husband, Harold. I am passionate about our marriage, our friendship and
our life that we have made together. We have a long history together
and an exciting future ahead of us. I couldn't be happier with the man
God made especially for me.
...memories. I am passionate about memories!
Now,
this is where something clicked. This is where I am at now, and this is
why I have again decided to take another shot at this blogging thing. 2
strikes is disappointing, but it's the 3rd strike that really
counts...right? I can't quite pinpoint the exact moment when it
happened, but somewhere along the way in my 23 years of life, I became
obsessed with memories...OBSESSED, I tell you...
I am a compulsive, overly emotional memory hoarder.
Because
of my...condition...I have become very involved in the world of
photography. Much like every other twenty-something out there, I am
constantly taking pictures. I am whipping out my phone or my camera to
snap special moments each and every day. For as long as I can remember, I
have been a photography addict. But as I have recently ventured into
the professional side of photography, something about running a
photography business just doesn't feel right for me. I LOVE doing photo
shoots for my friends and family. I love to spend that time with these
special people, capturing their moments and saving their memories in a
unique way for years to come.
I
have done a handful of photo sessions for people who have been referred
to me by friends, but I have yet to feel comfortable reaching out into
the public, extending my services to people I don't know. At first, this
seemed like it was going to be a good way for me to stay busy and bring
in a little extra cash for our family. But, even though I have made a
few friends through my photography thus far, I haven't found that
passion that I find with photo sessions I do especially for loved
ones...and I think I know the reason why.
When
I started my photography business, I poured over name options. I
originally planned on something very simply and easy...AP
Photography...but wouldn't that make me just like all of the other Mommy
Photographers I saw around me? So I kept looking, and eventually
decided on a name that held a deep meaning for me.
aThousandwords | Photography - By Allison
A
picture is worth a thousand words...as I'm sure everyone has heard
many, many times in their lives. So even though it wasn't as original as
I would have hoped, the meaning behind that sentence is exactly what
inspired my photography to begin with. When I started my business, I
made a vow that every photo I would publish with my photography would
have a story behind it. I didn't want to just take pictures. I didn't
want to do photos just to do photos, or just because someone paid me to
do them. I wanted to capture memories. I wanted to save these moments
for people who cherished them.
The
other day I came across a blog that was dedicated to a photography
project, where they made a promise to take a photo every single day of
the year. It was so inspiring to me, because this person had made an
effort to document a special memory each day, something that had
originally given me the desire to start a blog in the first place. But
she did it in a way that spoke to me, because she chose to use what she
was passionate about: photography. Her purpose wasn't to get on there
every day to tell about her life, it was to force herself to find and
photograph a special moment, no matter what.
As
I browsed her blog and read her stories and viewed her photos, all of a
sudden there was no question in my mind of what I was going to do.
Today, I was going to start a blog. I was going to challenge myself to
take on the same project as this photographer did...a photograph a day,
365 days, no matter what.
And so this blog baby was born...
I've
decided that this inspiration couldn't have come at a better time,
considering we are less than 2 weeks away from the start of the New
Year! January 1, 2013 seems the perfect day to begin this project that
requires participation every day of the year. So until then, I'm going
to take each of these days leading up to my fresh blogging start to
introduce myself, my family and my life....and also to practice my
blogging skills...which are practically non-existent.
Here's
to memories, and all the beauty to be found in a photograph. Here's to
family, and the stories that bring us all together. And here's to you,
and your lack of anything better to do than to join me on my journey
through this exciting new year of endless possibilities.
