life updates y'all!

Okay, I know it's been forever since I've been on here. For that, I am sorry. This semester has been an absolute whirlwind with officially starting my photography business, getting acclimated back to U.S college standards and figuring out what the heck I'm even doing after I graduate. Also my life isn't as interesting as it was while I was abroad, but still I prevail. Let me give you all a little life update--

I'm graduating ONE YEAR early! Yes, this means I am graduating from Iowa State University in the Spring of 2020. This was a life decision made maybe a month ago, so it's still kind of fresh (maybe?). I only have 14 credits left in my major, since my credits from Scotland transferred back as 18 instead of the 12 I was planning on--happy surprise I guess! Please don't ask me what I am doing after I graduate--I absolutely have no idea. There's a lot of directions I could go, but I don't have any commitments at this point.

I officially started my own photography business! Yes, I am a registered LLC and have made some big investments for myself. It's a scary process, but photography is absolutely my passion and is something I want to pursue seriously. With that being said, hit me up for all your photography needs ;) (shameless plug)

Academics have certainly kept me busy. I have lots and lots of homework which is a little difficult to get accustomed to after a semester and summer without constant deadlines. We're holding in there though (only a month left then a semester)!

I got bangs! Was this an emotional haircut? Eh, I like to think not, but ya girl has been really stressed lately. We're still feeling it out, seeing if we'll keep 'em. I would post a picture, but Liz (a friend from home) is coming this weekend to do some headshots together, so I'll have a nice photo for you all later! *I also got braces--I sometimes forget not everyone knows that...my bad!*

I shot my first wedding! Does that make me an official wedding photographer? I'd like to think so. I've still got a lot of learning to do, but I am so thankful for Katie and Sam for trusting me to capture their big day. I will forever remember their wedding and how fun and kind everyone was. When I started this blog post, I was originally going to make it all about Katie and Sam's wedding, then it turned into a life update. So I am going to make a separate blog post outlining my day photographing my first wedding.

To finish my life updates, I have also had such a rollercoaster of emotions within my faith as well. Life got hard this semester. I have had my high and lows--through it all I have come out on the other side (wow that sounded dramatic, sorry everyone). In all seriousness, I have had moments where I've seriously questioned my faith and have gotten frustrated with the lack of control over my life. The one thing that got me through that time was honestly the community that surrounded me. I had Salt staff members that truly cared for me and even non-Christian friends who would listen to my frustrations and offer advice. Living the Christian doesn't mean you're perfect--we are actually far from it. This season of my life allowed me to experience the pain of deep and dark sin, but then to experience Jesus' deep love and grace for me in the aftermath of confession and inner turmoil.

Okay, that was a lot of updates for y'all. I hope that satisfies you for the time being. My next course of action is creating Katie and Sam's wedding day blog post. If you're interested in how some of the photos turned out, go to my gallery on my website (which you're already on, how convenient)!