{Unravelling} Project Life 365 & 30 Days of Lists

Since the start of the year, I made a promise to myself that I would not spend another day sad. I had been fighting off depression for years now and I was honestly just tired of being a person that I did not want to be (or ever imagined I would be)...unhappy. Although many circumstances sucked, I honestly just decided that my perspective needed to change. And since then I have been very intentional how I spend my days. I've been working out five days a week, I read, I write, I take pictures, I share on Instagram & Facebook.

I started showing my students an inspirational video every Monday (we call it Motivational Monday...and it's the first thing they ask for every week). And in the midst of trying to inspire them, it motivates me too. In a huge way I'm connecting with my students more than I ever have. They are laughing and crying and asking questions...the right questions. I've always taught Spanish so I have never had the same sort of conversations that other teachers are able to have when they are discussing history or literature, etc. I finally just decided that I am not teaching Spanish, I am teaching kids. Really the rules are thrown out, and I am making new ones. And I kinda feel like I'm doing the right thing when I get amazing emails from parents like this...

You can see my playlist of videos HERE. 

I also made an inspirational vision bulletin board in my bedroom...and it's pretty much the first thing I see each morning.

I have joined online classes & groups and I'm connecting with woman that are like minded. And the best part? I am better. And happy. Or some version of it, at least on my way. I had several people recommend to me that I go on meds (antidepressants, that is). I'm so glad that I didn't and I am happy to say that I'm healing without it (and not that I condemn it, I just didn't want it for me). It's hard work...don't get me wrong. But I've been committed and I am on my way back to being WELL. It feels so good.

(And on a side note: I tell you all of this in complete honesty because I know there are so many of you out there that struggle too. I'm here to tell you that there is hope and I am here for you if you need it. This life is crazy hard & unexpected and just damn messy. You can sit and wallow in your misery...or you can wake up and realize that there is a bold & beautiful life for you to live that holds so much promise. Seriously. I believe this but it so took me a few years to figure it out. So I am here to help & inspire. Just decide that you want to be happy. Start there. Everything else will follow.)

One of the best things so far about this year is an amazing community of woman photographers that I have bonded with on Instagram, thanks to Project Life 365. As it turns out, there are so many kindred spirits out there. People that share a passion for capturing the ordinary, that appreciate telling their story, and are super encouraging and supportive. I just never imagined finding such a bond with people that I do not know personally.

So if you're not familiar with Project Life 365...it's basically a photo challenge. We are given a word each day to capture and then we share via Instagram with the #hashtag of the day's theme. I only use my iPhone 4S to capture the images (with a very rare capture with my D700) and usually edit with Afterglow, Over (for text), and Instagram filters. I started on January 1st but then life kinda got in the way and didn't finish off the month. I'm happy that I completed every day in February...with the exception of one day. That's progress! And I'm all about giving myself a break these days and bending the rules. So here's the month of February in review. As you can see, you get a little bit of everything....but you really do get a glimpse into my daily life. Which may seem really boring to you but I really love Tracey Clark's philosophy to Elevate The Every Day. For me, since the moment I fell in love with photography....I see so much more beauty in the mundane. I notice light every where I go, I see contemplative moments of silence, I see colors, and patterns, and repeating patterns, and sometimes I feel like my eyeballs are the shutter of a camera every time they blink. I am that obsessed. Visit my online gallery if you'd like to visit the images full size.

I had an online photographer friend invite me to a new challenge too...30 Days of Lists. Well I'm a chronic list maker by nature....so I instantly signed up. I love to journal too so this shall be fun or at least interesting.

So friends, I am on my way to better. But more than that, I wanna be great! I wanna aspire to do more, while inspiring others too. All this picture taking and list making results in two things...I wanna be known and I wanna connect with other like minded souls. And that is exactly what is happening. I'm getting so much feedback from beautiful new soulful friends. I love it. I am nearing the person I was meant to be. Not yet but I am a work in progress, for sure. Stay tuned for good things to come...but please tell me your journey too. Where are you? 

Being honest & transparent is super hard...but it is also super rewarding!!!