Dear Self…

Dear Self, Look  at you.. you’re 17, you love halter tops and bell bottom jeans. You love the beach, and fishing with your dad..picking up shells.. driving your VW. There are no seatbelts in it… how dumb.

You wear a POW bracelet on your arm. You cry when the soldiers don’t come home.  You are a bleeding heart. Close that heart up a little.. it’s only going to get rougher, You just don’t know it yet.

Dear Self, I wish you still hugged your dad.. but there is that awkward teenage hugging. Parents are strange at this time… They will get better.  You don’t think about a life without your parents or loved ones in it, but it will happen.

Dear Self, Let go of those embarrassing things.. like the time you spit green peas across the cafeteria when you were 7.. No one remembers.  Or that epic failure of a wrap around skirt. .. yes the one that fell off in the hallway during 5th grade.

Dear Self, Life will be full of tragic events. Remember that chilly November day when they sent you home from school? You were 6..The man who mopped the halls was crying.. someone shot the president.

Dear Self.  Drive slower.

Dear Self.. You are on the brink of following your dreams… You draw..  you play the piano… You go to college your senior year of high school… and you picked up a camera with black and white film in it. You take art class with Real college students. You  win an art show. Do you KNOW what a big deal that was ?

Dear Self, do NOT let anyone tell you what you can’t do.

Dear Self,     You have made mistakes.. and trust me you will make more. Don’t beat yourself up,  don’t worry  you will pay for them,… everyone does….  but you do have the sense to go to college    You.. have done things that you never thought you were capable of,

but self,  I gotta tell you… you wasted a lot of time on things that were NOT important.  Why did you worry so about what the mean girls thought of you in high school? Was it because you wanted to be a part of the mean girl pact? That super seductive group that always managed to elude trouble no matter what they did?? Why did  you  feel so awkward?  Get a grip !       You were never the mean girl. You were the dreamer, the lover of teachers, and the artsy type. You wanted to always be something that you weren’t .  I guess I have to ask you why?  You were always good enough, even though your 17 year old brain didn’t see it.

Dear Self,  you lover of music.. Music and art will take you through the low times and the great times. From Cat Stevens, to Pharrell.

Dear Self. learn to sail.

Dear Self, Learn to pick your friends wisely, and understand that people come and go in your life for a reason. God may test you, he may torment you… but he always brings you through and true. Learn that accepting others who are different , who are weak and sick .. or can’t defend themselves is your calling.

Dear Self.. I am proud that you will learn  to save lives..I am proud that you will bathe dirty homeless people.. I am proud that you will stand up and speak what you believe.

Dear Self.. quit saying in your head that you were the fat girl.. you were just as pretty as the skinny girls. If you knew then what you know now.. you would know that you were a skinny girl, but that it didn’t matter.

Dear Self, Love the people in your life.. they will be gone one day.

Dear Self.  What matters is the person that you are today. The person with a big heart… with a perfectionist attitude.. with the desire to produce art, and grow with it. Don’t be in such a hurry to grow up.

Dear Self, you will get through..YOU will survive hard things..  and NEVER EVER  place your worth into another’s hands… and don’t let their thoughts invade your space. You are You for a reason.

Dear Self…  You want to be kind, and generous, and loving and tolerant.  Most of all, forgiving.

Dear Self,  realize that Forgiveness does not mean that you go back for more.

Dear Self, always hold those you love tightly… they can be gone in an instant.

Dear Self, Good Job, especially on the loving part.  You have learned to love all people, even the mean girls.

Dear Self you must face the fact that you aren’t going to be a singer..you must face the fact that high school ends, friends get sick, old friends go away, new ones come. You must face the facts that every other 17 yr old must face. Life is big! So live it big… make mistakes.. fall in love.. love your parents.. go to church… Find a guy who CAN’T Dance, but has excellent table manners. Enjoy your youth. Take lots of pictures along the way.

Dear Self… sing even though you can’t carry a tune. …

Sing Loud.

Dear self… teach your children to sing.

XXOO

connie

Hello Beautiful. Book Before July 4th, and receive a free Formal, in studio session of you in your prom gown or tux! Bring a friend!  One 8×10 and free session! xxoo connie

During the past several years, I have met some amazing senior high school students. The class of 2015 has to have been one of my favorite years..

I really can’t type this without becoming a little mushy and emotional. All of you from the class of 2015 are so special. I wish that I had the time to interview each and everyone of you. If you get a chance    ….stop in and tell me where you’re off to.. and what you’re going to major in. Most of this information I already have stored, because I will never forget any of you.

“I just want to celebrate another day of living..”    truer words cannot be found .. ( lyrics from the 70’s)  … yes that was my high school time… ( I know I’m old)

This young man  gave me the perfect opportunity to say something…To write something.. To be meaningful, because he is so meaningful, yes…. I get re-charged from my seniors.. they are special.

JuWan said that as a freshman he never realized the impact that his High school days would have on his life.. He made friends that would last forever.. He has been taught values from a loving home and church family. He found a way in his life to affect the lives of others. He developed study habits that pushed him near the top of his class.  He is a music worship leader at his church, engaged in every thing possible by his parents.. and He knows where the important things in life are.

He has found them at the ripe age of 17.  When I asked him where he saw himself in 10 years.. he said he is going to Old Dominion, and is majoring in Education and Music. He plans on continuing his work with his church.. and teaching children music. He said eventually he would like to teach in public schools, and become an administrator.  He has high aspirations.. But.. Not only does he have the aspiration to do these things, he has done the work to get him where he needs to go to succeed!

So many of us, even as adults, never do the work to get us to where we want to be. This young man has a head start. I am proud to call him my friend.  Good luck JuWan.. and Good luck class of 2015.

xx00

Connie.

I am not a preachy kind of person. I don’t quote the bible.. I don’t try to change people’s religions. And what’s that you say?  A blog post from a photographer without photos on it.. Well yes my dears. So either run and hide or read on.

I was recently shamed on social media for having a photo of a young lady holding a scarf that was pink and grey.. plus red white and blue. It was a scarf.. not a flag.   Shamed..Tormented and put in my place. I was  told that I needed to read the flag code. Told that I was unprofessional ( that may be true).. told that I was Un-American… really? I’m a tarheel .. that’s as American as you get. I was told that I was desecrating the most valuable thing that we as Americans have.. our flag. This made me question.. is the flag our most valuable possession as a country?  Our flag is wrapped around olympic athletes after they win a competition. Our flag is seen on jewelry, and clothing.. Our flag is displayed in miniature form in gardens..  So is our flag so precious that a Senior who just spent five years in college and wants to work in the legal system in our country can’t hold up a scarf with stripes on it?  I have friends and family members that have fought for the freedoms that the flag represents. So NO.. i wouldn’t use an official american flag as a photography prop.

I say we have larger problems to worry about. Such as how to feed starving children who go to school each morning without breakfast. How to take care of our terminally ill elderly patients in the country. How to make sure that our college kids are safe on campus from predators. How to raise respectful youth.. and re-establish bonds between our law enforcement officers and the the general public.

If you as an American citizen have a problem with a senior holding a scarf that has 12 stripes.. 22 stars and pink and grey tones in it.. then you obviously need to find some other things to think about.  This would be a great time for you to volunteer at a homeless shelter, or get your own head straight.

I was told a lot of things, and the funny thing is .. the people who were telling me this.. were Self Proclaimed Christians. Followers of Jesus.  God is good.. etc. etc.

SO my message to you… Shame on you. Shame on your for ridiculing me publicly and privately. Shame on you for not following what Jesus taught .. which i believe to be tolerance and love.  Shame on you for not being the church. Shame on you for worshipping a flag over friendship.

If you believe in a Holy supreme God.. which I do.. then every day you should BE the Church. In the walk you walk.. and the talk you talk.  How can you hate, name call, ostracize.. and bully anyone .. if you are truly being the church?

ANYONE who knows me, knows that I am the wife of a firefighter.. the daughter in law of a police officer  and a patriotic spirit.. So if you feel the need to comment on my ” scarf” photos, please be kind and keep your fingers still.  I really don’t like my college seniors upset when someone writes something without thinking under one of their beautiful photos.

Just a few rambling thoughts from the office….

Connie.