"Throwback Thursday"

Today, Thursday November 7th is notorious for its weekly social media hash tag on peoples past experiences known as "Throwback Thursday", with photos and past experiences shared to remind us of experiences that we cherish down memory lane.... whether it be good or bad (typically good)

so I thought to myself "why not!" lets partake in the festivities dating to this past weekend and what started off as an extremely bumpy road....

I got fired from my job...(sort of) 

With lack of communication and up to date technology under some fire with certain companies, I found myself fired from my job..... so I had the night off we'll say...

and in retaliation to it all, I wasn't gonna be your typical depressed unemployed student looking for a job now.... so I was waiting... waiting for something to happen... and then it happened. 

*text message from mike* 

"Hey! do you wanna go see Grizmatik tonight for free?" 

no questions asked. 

"YES. when do I have to be ready?"

and so it began, getting my mind off of everything and just enjoying the love I have for music, curious to know where my life was gonna head next knowing I have EDC so soon. and upon entering the venue in Milwaukee (Yes I drove to Milwaukee last minute for Grizmatik) I was given out of no where, two free tickets to see Porter Robinson at the end of November on top of discounted tickets to see Steve Aoki, and Pretty lights. 

talk about crazy Karma right ? 

and to top it all off....already in a good mood, I received a text from my friend Caitlyn saying.... 

"Call work tomorrow, essentially there was a huge misscommunication. and you still have your job"

So you mean to tell me, I was fired for a couple hours and still have my job (essentially had the night off), made it to a show for free, anddddd got free tickets to see Porter Robinson?!?

Sounds like a dream right ? 

trust me I feel the same way. life is good to you sometimes in the strangest of ways. And NOW I'm EDC bound to reunite with one of the greatest groups of people in the world, that I'm fortunate enough to call my family. 

Happy Throwback Thursday Everyone ;)

Ants in the pants

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to photograph Michelle's family of 3 (4 to be) that was sincerely a pleasure to capture. Micah, the almost 2 year old has achieved the unlocking of "ants in his pants" something I like to call when we reach that age where we can't stay still!!

We've all been there at one point or another and it was a funny reminder of how I use to be as a kid. Running, speed walking, sneaking around, crouching, crawling! (ok not crawling but I was close) essentially anything with my camera to get the angle I wanted, the view I was envisioning and perspective I created when Capturing Micah and I loved the challenge.

From the fall leaf's to the fall chilly weather we had fun exploring the park only to be rewarded with fruit snacks and lov'n fun with his parents and sibling to be!

Here's a few from this weekends shoot! 

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Family Friends

 Last week I had the pleasure to take pictures of a family friends family. Like the old saying goes. its amazing to see how fast children can grow. but that's not going towards Kims Children, but rather myself.

I was the chubby kid who always saw my sister Ericas friends coming in and out of our house growing up, talking about weird things like boys and going out while I was more concerned about showing them my Pokemon Cards and playing video games only to now find myself taking pictures of their beautiful families later in the years.

It's amazing how things change when you get older, and even more amazing how much more you appreciate life, as it passes by.

here's a few from last weeks photo shoot!

The Halloween puzzle

After having a regular day at school I was questioning myself  "why do I feel so weird today?? It's Halloween but that's it"

and after picking up doughnuts for my photo project (don't ask) from Dunkin and getting spoiled with a 1/2 dozen extra because of the lack of trick er' treaters who didn't show because of the rain, it clicked in my head!!

During this time for the last four years I haven't been home....

Fall 2009- Illinois state university freshman year
Fall 2010- First Disney Internship
Fall 2011- living in Florida trying to make it big
Fall 2012- Second Disney Internship

its been FOUR YEARS since I've been home..... So I decided I can do one Halloween laid back with the family.... eating resisting doughnuts ;) 

especially if I'm dressing up for EDC in almost exactly ONE WEEK

Happy Halloween Everyone!! 

Patrick the 2 year-old

Waking up early last Sunday morning I was fortunate enough to photograph this little stud by the name of Patrick Trendel :D

Now the thing about patrick that he's not your typical two year old. See when I first met the little guy I found that he wasn't  shy at all from his stylish out fit to his outgoing smile and curiosity to whatever was in front of him! including me! :)

Christine- "say hello to Ethan, Patrick!"

Patrick- *smiling from ear to ear*

Ethan- "good morning Patrick! you're awfully happy this morning!"

and sure enough, the smiles turned into laughs and adventures throughout the forest in search of deer and coming across a parade of ducks throughout the morning sunrise. We had a blast together with him and his awesome parents and I truly can't wait to take pictures of them all again!

The funny thing about reality

Through out the month of October I've been fortunate enough to see one of my favorite dance music artists, Kaskade while still maintaining my full time status as a student and server position, but I still feel like I'm slacking... with everything.

with midterms finishing up, I'm barely hanging on to all straight A's which is border line surprising considering I haven't been in school for over a year (June 2012) and I have a tendency to always go slow motion the first semester of school with the hope of summer coming faster, but on the flip side I realized that all of my classes are tied together. Accounting, Statistics, Marketing and my digital photography courses are all tied together in one way or another and that's what makes everything so interesting for me.

I often question the realities of life and whether or not things are "meant to happen" as if to say everything happens for a reason. There are often theories about life from reputable people I don't know, nor do they know me about life and it makes me question a lot.

had I taken different courses through out high school would I be where I'm at today? if I never did an internship with the Walt Disney Company would I be where I'm at today? would I have a different mind set about everything or still be as open minded as I am today?

Growing up I realized I was different from most kids, struggling to fit in prior to high school, but finding peace whenever I played a game or went on a run through the forest or later fell in love with electronic dance music. During that time I left reality, nothing else mattered to me but the next button I pressed, the next step I took, or the next stage I wanted to dance at.

the funny thing about reality is that it changes constantly, its inevitable to experience new things, but some people experience it more frequently than others. Some people live in the same town working the same job for years, fearing the world outside of their reality or they feel limited to what they can experience, and others prioritize their life to allow their realities to change constantly knowing that life is too precious to waste.

All of my experiences have led me to where I am today and whether or not its inevitable to find myself where I am currently....... I'm happy, I'm learning, I'm open minded to all the goods and the bads the world has to offer, and I'm done going through the motions.

It's really time to put forth an effort, because lifes to short to go through the motions.

and at the end of the day we're all "Freaks in the Atmosphere" and I have to thank my immediate and extended family for showing me this over the years.

with that being said it's time to start writing more and preparing for the next adventure(s) in my life. 

peace and love everyone ^_^ 

p.s. totally found out that kaskade used my flag in his Chicago Atmosphere tour video after my picture was taken with my friends at the beginning of the month check it out if you can at 1:09!!

 Can't wait to see him again in almost 1 week under the electric sky with my extended family! :')

 

Drum Roll Please!!

After busting my butt, studying for my accounting exam and coming to the conclusion my lack of knowledge for Debits and Credits is finally coming to a close; I went to my academic counselor to get an update on my transfer credits from the different schools I attended over the last few years and that's when I really sat down to think about everything I've done over the last few years. Upon graduating high school I went to Illinois State University for my first year in college, and not knowing what I wanted to accomplish I left the school to partake a journey with the mouse in fall of 2010. After flipping my life around, going to Valencia Community College, followed by DePaul University, and Finally Triton Community College and between all that doing another year long internship with the mouse, I found out 

EVERYTHING WAS UPDATED

*drum roll please* 

I only have to take one class next semester to meet the requirements and credit hours needed to transfer to Illinois State Universities School of Business Marketing !!!!! 

After holding back all the excitement from that news I realized one thing. 

wisdom isn't gained from the amount of years in your life, but rather the amount of life in the years of your existence. I am a true testament to that as I have been to several schools both in state, out of state, private and community. I have accomplished two years worth of internships with a fortune 100 company and upon figuring out my life, I finally found my pursuit of happiness. 

In the fall of 2014 I hope to attend Illinois State Universities Marketing Program and continue my road to success. 

So what did I due to celebrate? 

Booked my Flight to Orlando Florida, for my first reunion of friends under the Electric Sky 

EDC ORLANDO HERE I COME