The Colours of October

This blog post is long overdue. I would like to say I have been really busy but I honestly haven't been that busy. I have just been  constantly tired and unmotivated. I suppose that sounds like I am unhappy, but I'm honestly not. I am in the vast area between restless and content. I am happy, satisfied, and grateful to be where I am, but I'd rather be anywhere but here. I don't even know where 'here' is it changes far too often. I am learning to be thankful in every season.

 I am delighted to introduce Maria. Isn't she so beautiful? She is a fellow international student from Cyprus studying dance on my course with me. I am so blessed to have met her, she's so full of laughter with a heart of gold. 

 Golden light inspires me. If I let a day with perfect lighting go by without taking photos I always feel like in a way it is wasted. This photoshoot was completely unplanned. I saw the golden light shining through my window and needed a shoot. I sent Maria a message just wondering if she was free and she graciously agreed to be my model. Being a model is honestly quite hard and definitely uncomfortable, so I am really grateful that Maria agreed as she really makes quite a fab model. 

 I have been falling more and more in love with my course. I am feeling comfortable with my course mates and it is so exciting to learn all this new information. It is a wonderful thing to study subjects that make my heart happy. 

 My insomnia has gone crazy since coming to university. I have endured way too many sleepless nights which leads me to depend fully on Jesus (and a little bit of coffee). Life is quiet and slow and yet the days fly by, in the blink of an eye the months are over. 

 I have been doing a lot of painting recently. I dabbled in creating an digital animation, but it takes so long I need a whole lot of motivation and determination. Glen Keane is my hero  and inspiration I want to be like him when I grow up. 

 This is the first time I have experienced seasons changing in 11 years. It's crazy and wonderfully intriguing. I am fascinated by the different colours in the leaves. Autumn is seriously such a beautiful season it has been a privilege to witness it's splendour. But the leaves didn't stop falling and before I could fully take in all of the colours, they were gone. I am learning the art of letting go. I find myself thinking of Indonesia way too often, but my heart doesn't belong there. Pieces of my heart are scattered across the world with the people I love. Who knew I would ever form any kind of attachment to the US Navy, or get excited whenever I see the University of Penn State advertised in random pictures and places. I  somehow find comfort in knowing that eventually I am going to pack my bags and go and these days will become fond memories and I will grow to love the people I meet here. 

 I have learned that University is what you make it. You have the choice whether or not you want to get as much as possible out of it. I don't regret my choices so far, but next year I think I will join my societies. This semester though I wanted to focus on my course and learning and reading as much as possible. I did find myself with a bit too much free time and not enough social interaction though. Skype has kept me going through times of loneliness and needing to be myself. I am blessed to have people in this world that make me laugh until my abs burn, that encourage me, that know me. 

 Art has been my comfort. Previously I thought that I was never truly able to express myself through art, but I realise now that I did. When I was happy I did and when I wasn't I didn't create. Now I create in the midst of all this chaos. Art has helped me grieve loss and come to terms with current circumstances. I have so many ideas for art projects, but until I get off my butt and do them they will remain simply ideas. I want to create an interactive art therapy journal filled with writing and drawing prompts, quotes, and colouring pages. I want to finally open my Etsy shop after working on it for so long, but for some reason being afraid to click the 'open now' button. 

 Jesus is good to me and his grace is all I want and all I need. He is always faithful and he will never change no matter where I am. I am thankful that he is the one constant I can always depend on. I am fully known and loved by him and that just completely covers any kind of discomfort I experience

I am on my Christmas break right now and I have been writing and ending photos in the lovely Oval Cafe in Harpenden. I never realised how easy it is work in a cafe. I don't know what it is, but the atmosphere just helps me focus. I have been so productive today. I am almost done with my last essay assignment, I finished editing another set of photos, added more listings to my Etsy shop, and I have the next few blog posts lined up. 

 It's December now, but I have been thinking back to October when these pictures were taken. The past is a lovely place to visit, but I don't want to live there. It's crazy how things change, I feel so different now just two months later. I actually read a book about this for one of my classes and Chapter 1 tackled the question, 'can we truly change and if yes, then how so?' But to be honest I don't remember enough of it to try to explain the psychological theories. My brain is on holiday mode which isn't helping with writing my essays. Note to self: finish your essays before you go home for break. 

 Ok I think I'll save the rest of my thoughts and musings for the nest post.  Enjoy these pictures and my random commentary.:) 

Be Still - Free Printable

I moved into my college dorm room last week. My Mom dropped me off and we had a great last meal together and fit a grocery shop in. The whole experience was probably one of the most overwhelming moments of my summer. I was left heartbroken and crying in my room wondering why I ever decided to go to university. I kept telling myself that I should have taken a gap year. 

Sorrow may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning. It only went up from there. 

I just finished my induction week which was nerve-wracking, exciting, and fun all at the same time. The course I'm studying is called Creative Expressive Therapies and even in the first few days it has been wonderful. We have done many workshops that all involve expressing how we are feeling. It was comforting to know that we are pretty much all in the same boat. On the first day we did a workshop where we had to use any medium (dance, art, drama) to express how we felt and then present it to the class. Everybody had elements of nervousness, excitement, stress, and happiness in their presentation. I loved that workshop, because it made me feel less alone, because the people around me were going through the same things I was going through. 

I made 3 friends. When I'm uncomfortable in my surroundings I get really shy and I'm not so good at making friends. But on the first day all the international students somehow found each other. We all clicked, because we all understand each other in ways that no one else can. It's weird for me though because they see me as an English student, but I would never classify myself as being from England. I'm still on the look out for other MKs. 

I keep having weird almost "identity crisis" moments. At Mountainview I had such an established identity and I was so confident, but I now I feel like I have to start again from scratch. It's weird and it's just something that takes time to adjust to. I'm not freaking out though, because I know my identity in Christ and everything else comes second and is totally out shined by the cross. 

Through this time of change and uncertainty the truth of this verse has been my anchor. I originally made this printable for Hunter for his birthday, but I'd like to share it with you guys. It's so powerful yet so simple and has definitely spoken to me these past few weeks.  

Download your printable here . The downloaded file is an A4 size and I wouldn't recommend printing it any bigger as the quality will go down. Also print it from the jpeg you will get when you click on the link because the image quality as shown below isn't very high. 

 Just a reminder to please respect me and my work. I am giving away this printable for free to bless you guys, so please don't use it for anything other than personal use. And please give me credit for the artwork. Just a simple mention of my blog can go a long way. Thank you. 

No Longer Slaves Free Printable

This song is packed full of truth about our identity in Christ. Claim this truth and step into freedom. 

I made this printable for Sarah Lee (but also for anyone to download). We have years of history with this song and proclaiming this truth in times of worship. Sarah I still can't listen to this song without thinking of you.  

Click Here To Download  the original photo. Once it's downloaded it is ready to be printed or set as wallpaper for your personal use. 

Till We're Grown

Seeing these two and staying with them is always a highlight of my summer. This time we only had a few days together due to the fact that I moved countries and had a whole lot of renovating to do on the house. But we certainly made the most of our time together. 

Originally we thought we would only have one day together so we woke up at 8am to have our annual photoshoot. The morning sun was so beautiful and they took me to a magical forest. Poppy couldn't stop climbing up all of the trees which provided great entertainment for Ruby and I. 

These two sisters are my oldest friends and they're so fab to be with. Not to mention that they are super amazing models. :) 

Free Poppy Colouring Book Page Printable

Hey guys.

  I made a colouring book page. I created a poppy clip art and turned it into this complicated piece. Creating random things in photoshop is something that just relaxes me and can keep me entertained forever. I made this for fun and decided that it won't live up to it's full potential if I just keep it to myself.

  So Click Here to Download the png file. Once you download it, it's ready to be printed and coloured on! (I would love to see your finished results so feel free to message me and show me) This is my first of (hopefully) many free printables. 

Please read the terms of use and credit me in any post. 

summer sunsets

This is my first post since arriving in England a month and a half ago. England is such a beautiful country with so many picture opportunities the only problem is that it is often cloudy and raining. When I first arrived in England it was way too cold for me to even go outside, but there have been quite a few beautiful sunny days that inspire my photography senses. 

 What I missed was a photography buddy or a model. Alanah is a new friend. She is the kind of person I could just so easily click with. The first time we hung out we ended up talking for like 5 hours. I asked her to be my model and she graciously agreed. 

 She has never modelled before, so I was a bit scared she would be really awkward, but she was an absolute natural! She is just so photogenic it was so easy and natural to shoot these. Thanks Alanah for the laughs and thank you setting sun.