Faith, Hope, and Love

Canon Imagination , a group on Flickr. So I ran across this randomly while playing around online and got pretty excited. I love my Canon! And what greater way to see all I can do with it by checking out other people's photos! Also, I saw something about inspiring a Ron Howard production with photographs . Which got me really excited. I thought, 'Hey, maybe I could enter..." But after reading a bit more, it turns out I've missed the deadline. And there's already some semi-finalists and stuff. Winners will be announced in July. So while my briefly lifted hopes were quickly deflated, it still got me thinking about how I should get out there and take more pictures. And suddenly... I'm feeling a bit more inspired. We'll see what comes out of me over the next few weeks or so!

Yesterday was a rough day. And I won't lie and pretend that things are alright now. I'm still a little down, but regardless of all the jerks out there, I have to admit that I have some really awesome friends. And they are constantly my sunshine after the any thunderstorm that comes blowing through  my life. And it's kind of like they all knew I had such a crappy day yesterday, because I was showered with love today. I got a text from one of my girls in Dallas proclaiming how much she missed me. And then one of my other besties gave me a call and we chatted for like an hour, which was nice. I needed those bits of love. Reminders that somewhere out there, people think of me. And care about me. Definitely brightened my mood.

Goodness, I love weddings! Over Memorial Day Weekend, I went to my fourth (or is it fifth) this year. It was a sweet, little event in San Antonio. Goregous weather, even with the blazing heat. The breeze was just enough to keep you cool. My favorite part was when the bride began walking down the aisle. The groom instantly got teary-eyed. The bride keep craning her neck over the guest to catch a glimpse of her love. You knew the moment their eyes met--her face broke out into a bright smile. And as they drew closer together, she mouths, "I love you." The whole ceremony was like a glimpse into their intimate world. As they held hands, shared secret smiles, whispered sweet nothings to each other, said their vows. If there were pictures in the dictonary, all this would have been captured by the word "love." I know the groom better than the bride, and I know how long he prayed and waited on God to bring him his Eve. And from the short time I've been bless...

"Hope Floats" So, I was on Twitter the other day and noticed that #alicebucketlist was trending. I was curious, so I clicked on it, and found this blog . Alice is a 15-year-old cancer patient. She recently learned it was terminal and began her blog to track what's left of her life. Do as much as she can on her bucket list (and dream about the ones she can no longer achieve), and let the world share each step of the journey with her. One of the items on Alice's bucket list is to get everyone to be a bone marrow donor (I became one last year; wrote  a blog  about it for CURE). Another was to be trend on twitter (hence the #alicebucketlist ). The concept is kind of sad. But it's also inspiring. And... kind of hopeful. Reading through Alice's blog reminded me of Alicia Parlette (who I also wrote a blog about for CURE). A lot of the same thoughts and emotions swirled through me, so I thought I'd share a little bit of it here (to read the whole ...

One of the few things I didn't like about Nigeria was not being able to drive.  Besides not holding a driver's license (although my dad was all for my brother and I getting one), the roads are also way too narrow for my liking, and finally, drivers in Nigeria are a bit crazy. Their hands seem to be permanently glued to their horns, and there's a lot of speeding, abrupt stopping, and driving on whatever side of the road suits you at the moment (after all, you gotta avoid those pot holes!).  While I am known to be a bit of a fast driver, I am NOT an aggressive one. And aggression is one trait you need to survive the roads back home. Thank God for drivers!  But while I was absolutely grateful to have Mr. Tunde and Mr. Remi at my disposal, I kind of missed getting in my car and going wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. And since they were really my parents' drivers, it's not like they were honestly at my disposal. And then there is the guilt factor. Once, Mr. T...

For the summer, I'm working for Teach for America at it's Houston Institute. For those of you who don't know, Teach for America is a non-profit that recruits recent college grads to teach in urban and rural school districts. Their goal is to decrease the achievement gap of low-income kids. Kind of ironic that I just got my teaching certification, I'm working for a teaching organization, but as of right now I will not  be teaching in a school in the Fall, huh? Well... I mean, it could still happen. But I'm still on the job hunt. So far, it's been a pretty interesting experience. It's awesome to see so many people passionate about ensuring that every child in the U.S. has the opportunity to a great education. Yesterday was the Welcoming Ceremonies, and it was pretty much a bunch of speeches from Teach for America leaders, alum, and corps members about why they joined the corps, how they were inspired by their students, and just a general challenge to the 2...