For the longest time I've been planning on putting a Flickr photostream up and sharing it on the blog. It's finally up. If you scroll down just a little bit you should see it on the right. (Some of you may need to update Flash.) It's got everything beginning with this past Halloween, and I'll keep on adding to it as often as I can.
I'm working on a major photo project this winter... I've got boxes of old photos that I want to organize by year and put into photo albums, as well as scanning each picture and backing those up. I've often said that my most cherished possessions are those old photos, and I won't be happy until I've got them safely backed up somewhere. Floods and fires be damned, those photos will be safe! That's not even funny. But for real, when I do that you'll see more old photos popping up on that photostream too.
The photos from Frankenmuth are in there as well, and I think you can tell from the pics that I am really at a happy place in my life right now. Of course we all have our ups and downs, but I've been on a steady uphill climb for a while now, and that is thanks to all the caring people who are a part of my life. My mom and uncle, my girlfriend, Ani and Patrick, my cousins (and I count Lisa's cousins when I say that!), Lisa's parents...
I mean honestly it's hard to believe that I spent so much of my life hiding out from people when I could have just let them get to know me. That was my biggest mistake. Believing that people couldn't love me. Self-doubt is really crippling, and when I realize that's all that stood between me and love, it really blows my mind. Sure I still have my shy days where I just want to stay in and be a hermit (lol), but I am now able to give and receive love. I'm able to have an honest conversation with someone without filtering my responses to what I think they'd like to hear.
Peer abuse or bullying can really mess up a person's head, and it follows you so far through life even when you think you're over it. You remember their judgments and their harsh words and you think people will still be that way. And sometimes they are! But I'm an adult now and I can cut them out of my life in two seconds flat. I can honestly say that I haven't encountered anybody like that since I left school. Learning to let people in and to really let them get to know the real me has been a very long journey. I wish I could say it's over, but I think it'll be a lifelong thing. I'm out of the woods though. And I'm grateful.
Anyway, enjoy the photo gallery! I like how it flicks through the photos. Have fun with it and I'll keep you posted when I add something new...
