I know, I know, 9 days late but at least I made it before January is over. 2011 was a great year. Full of ups and downs but mostly a good year! Last year I learned new things, did new things, dreamed new things, laughed harder, loved deeply, messed up, and enjoyed life.
Last year started with a new career journey; I officially started my photography business, Fly Away Photography. That has been an adventure in itself. I became a professional photographer, my first paid session was in January. I definitely learned as I went along and made many, many, many mistakes. Things are mostly smoothed out but I will probably still have some rough patches to go through. I really enjoy photography, it has become a passion that sometimes turns into an addiction. Photography has allowed me to, not only feed my own personal creative energy, but also to give back to others. Last month I helped with Huntsville first ever Help Portrait event. To be able to see people's faces as they viewed their pictures - maybe their first picture in 5 years, 10 years, or their whole life - was such a blessing. You could tell that they were so overjoyed to be simply handed a photograph. It made me think that next time I am begged to have my picture taken, I should be grateful for the opportunity. Thanks to my wonderful parents I received a Canon 40D camera for Christmas and I now officially have my own camera. No more borrowing Mom or Abbi's cameras.
This year Alabama had some pretty extreme weather. The first week in January we had a pretty major snow storm that let us home-bound for probably 5 days. It wasn't just a 'Southern dusting'. We had about 13 inches over a 5 day period. The most snow I have ever seen in my life.
Also a series of tornadoes came through. The tornadoes that came through Huntsville left us for 98 hours with out power. Thankfully my Grandparents were out of town so my family hung out at their house for about a week. Our neighborhood got hit by one of the several tornadoes that came through on April 27th. It was a Wednesday and Abbi, Zeb, and I had gone to biology class at school. By about 11:15, the power at our house had gone off and Mom, Zoe, and Charlie - our puppy- were sitting in our laundry room. We were let out of class early but couldn't leave school until about 1 and didn't get home til around 2 because all the roads were closed off due to fallen trees and power lines. We finally got home to a mess. Our backyard had been blown away. We had no fence and a board had flown through one of our windows. We had a tree fall in the front yard and a fair amount of roof damage, but we were all okay. The big bummer of that week was I had to cancel my sweet 16 birthday party which I had spent months planning. In the end it took us about 7 months, but all the damage finally got fixed!
Last summer I had the amazing opportunity to work as a page in the United States Senate in Washington DC. I was in DC for 4 weeks. I lived in a dorm with 30 other teenagers from across the US. I spent the month sitting on the Senate floor doing whatever was needed of me. I got waters and ran bills and amendments to different parts of the Senate. I just so happened to be a page during the Debt Ceiling Crisis so I got a first hand look at how our government works during a stressful time. That week was full of late night shifts, card games, I finished 4 books, and ran on about 4 hours of sleep everyday.
I learned so much about myself, others and my Abba God during that time. Now looking back and glancing forward, I am so thankful that God opened the doors and gave me that desire I have. I enjoyed my time in the Senate immensely, but I know now that politics are definitely not what I want to do in my life.
In October I got my first, real, official, part-time job. I am now a proud employee of Chick-fil-a here in Huntsville. It is very interesting and sometimes very frustrating to have to juggle work and school and last semester I didn't have a social life. I have had to drop a few extra-curricular activities which is sad (and decreases my social life even more) but I really enjoy working. The freedom of having my own money makes going in at 7am and working 5 days a week worth it to me. My family really enjoys that I am working at Chick-fil-a and come in quite often for their family discount.
My siblings and I started attending a new church, Summit Crossing. I love it there and have started some awesome relationships with the people in the youth group. It took me about 7 months after my family left the church to fully leave my Sojourn youth group. I left there hurt and confused as to why God took me away from my amazing friends there. I am sometimes still sadden by the lack of relationship I have with those people but God had a plan. I still am not sure why He had me leave but I know that His will is the only way.
One of the biggest and most significant changes that happened last year was I felt a calling to go to Africa to work in an orphanage. Earlier last year I couldn't wait to graduate, move out and go to college to get away from all of this hectic chaos that is my life in Huntsville. Now, I still can not wait to graduate and move out but I want to go some place much different then a university. The hope of me moving to Africa keeps me going sometimes. Sometimes I go online and Google African children so I can see the beautiful faces. I am so in love with Africa. But that is the point. I am so in love with Africa that I am having a hard time figuring out if it is my will to go or God's will. I tell myself and others that I am not going to college and I have all these expectation set up but deep inside I worry that these dreams and desires are just that. Fleshly desires and dream to full fill my needs and wants, not God's. Of course, I want to do what God calls me to do but figuring out which little voice is His is harder then I thought. Sometimes I wonder if this is just His way of getting me prepared for something greater, if this is just a trial to see if I will give up my life for Him. I told Him to close doors if this wasn't His will and to open them wide if it was. So far most doors have been closed. In order for me to go on the mission trips I had planned to go on this spring/summer I need a passport. I asked my parents for one for Christmas and filled out an application have not gone and actually applied. Now I am too late to apply for a March trip and the trip I wanted to go on in July has a waiting list. I am getting very discouraged and worried that my dream is too far gone.
Stresses of starting the college application process and preparing for a future are really getting me down. I just try and hope and pray that God shows me a path soon. Meanwhile I try and trust but I feel like I fall short every single time.
So my year was fun, exciting, new, challenging, and scary at times. I got my licence, lived independently, lost friends, dreamed big, got my own room for the first time in 15 years, tried new things, made new friends, and tried and failed many, many, many times. Thanks so much for reading and I hope that your new year is filled with blessings and love.
-Alex
Last summer I had the amazing opportunity to work as a page in the United States Senate in Washington DC. I was in DC for 4 weeks. I lived in a dorm with 30 other teenagers from across the US. I spent the month sitting on the Senate floor doing whatever was needed of me. I got waters and ran bills and amendments to different parts of the Senate. I just so happened to be a page during the Debt Ceiling Crisis so I got a first hand look at how our government works during a stressful time. That week was full of late night shifts, card games, I finished 4 books, and ran on about 4 hours of sleep everyday.
I learned so much about myself, others and my Abba God during that time. Now looking back and glancing forward, I am so thankful that God opened the doors and gave me that desire I have. I enjoyed my time in the Senate immensely, but I know now that politics are definitely not what I want to do in my life.
In October I got my first, real, official, part-time job. I am now a proud employee of Chick-fil-a here in Huntsville. It is very interesting and sometimes very frustrating to have to juggle work and school and last semester I didn't have a social life. I have had to drop a few extra-curricular activities which is sad (and decreases my social life even more) but I really enjoy working. The freedom of having my own money makes going in at 7am and working 5 days a week worth it to me. My family really enjoys that I am working at Chick-fil-a and come in quite often for their family discount.
My siblings and I started attending a new church, Summit Crossing. I love it there and have started some awesome relationships with the people in the youth group. It took me about 7 months after my family left the church to fully leave my Sojourn youth group. I left there hurt and confused as to why God took me away from my amazing friends there. I am sometimes still sadden by the lack of relationship I have with those people but God had a plan. I still am not sure why He had me leave but I know that His will is the only way.
One of the biggest and most significant changes that happened last year was I felt a calling to go to Africa to work in an orphanage. Earlier last year I couldn't wait to graduate, move out and go to college to get away from all of this hectic chaos that is my life in Huntsville. Now, I still can not wait to graduate and move out but I want to go some place much different then a university. The hope of me moving to Africa keeps me going sometimes. Sometimes I go online and Google African children so I can see the beautiful faces. I am so in love with Africa. But that is the point. I am so in love with Africa that I am having a hard time figuring out if it is my will to go or God's will. I tell myself and others that I am not going to college and I have all these expectation set up but deep inside I worry that these dreams and desires are just that. Fleshly desires and dream to full fill my needs and wants, not God's. Of course, I want to do what God calls me to do but figuring out which little voice is His is harder then I thought. Sometimes I wonder if this is just His way of getting me prepared for something greater, if this is just a trial to see if I will give up my life for Him. I told Him to close doors if this wasn't His will and to open them wide if it was. So far most doors have been closed. In order for me to go on the mission trips I had planned to go on this spring/summer I need a passport. I asked my parents for one for Christmas and filled out an application have not gone and actually applied. Now I am too late to apply for a March trip and the trip I wanted to go on in July has a waiting list. I am getting very discouraged and worried that my dream is too far gone.
Stresses of starting the college application process and preparing for a future are really getting me down. I just try and hope and pray that God shows me a path soon. Meanwhile I try and trust but I feel like I fall short every single time.
So my year was fun, exciting, new, challenging, and scary at times. I got my licence, lived independently, lost friends, dreamed big, got my own room for the first time in 15 years, tried new things, made new friends, and tried and failed many, many, many times. Thanks so much for reading and I hope that your new year is filled with blessings and love.
-Alex
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