Girl of many words.

We all had dreams of what we want to be when we grow up.  When I was a kid I remember saying I wanted to be an artist and a teacher. Lets think about it…have you become the person you said you wanted when it was all but the dream of a child?  I have dabbled in lots of things. I failed miserably at Wall Street when I realized I was unable to do fractions.  I have been a lifeguard, worked on a dive boat, been a full time athlete, was an English tutor, a bike shop employee, a computer teacher, a coach, a spin instructor, a horrible waitress, a director of a running program, a photographer and that other little job…mother.  Perhaps the most amusing job I ever had was when I lived in Mexico. I was paid by a wealthy student to go to class for him. When they took attendance in the class, as long as your seat was occupied, you were considered present.  That semester, I read the entire Clive Cussler series while hidden behind a massive organic chemistry book.  I got to sit two seats down from my husband and pass notes to him; it was very romantic.  A day hasn’t passed where I lament on the fact that I missed out on graphic art classes.  So now I have been doing the best I can to try to learn what I need to know by trial and error, reading, watching you tube and hacking my way through the jungle of the digital age.  I know there is hope. Yesterday I learned how to make a custom brush in Photoshop. It was only a few clicks away, but the trick was in knowing where to seek out those elusive keys. I feel fortunate in some ways that I didn’t get the job first only to experience the stress of learning how to do everything on the job.  For me, photography has been an on the job learning experience. Sometimes I get it right and other times I fail miserably. Thank god for digital cameras or I would have never lasted this long. It is a good thing that I really enjoy the editing process and that’s mostly because I love to sit down with a nice cup of hot chocolate.  Beyond taking something out of a picture and putting it somewhere else, I haven’t yet ventured very far in Photoshop world. So here is my first reworked digital creation. Words and pictures fascinate me when it’s all in the same package. I figured I would pair up a photo of kate with her favorite thing...words. this girl loves to read.  I have seen some amazing pieces of art on line…just Google typographic art.  I have no shortage of photos to play around with, just a shortage of time.  I don’t believe it is ever too late to become what you have always wanted to be. In the prolific words from Dr. Suess’s,  Oh The Places You’ll Go, he writes “ Will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed. (98 3/4% guaranteed.)”. You don’t need to be just out of high school or a college grad to heed the advice from this book. So...be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea, you're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!