Internalizing home.

I was one told that home is inside of you, it's wherever you go, because it's not embodied by your physical surroundings-in fact, our attachment to physical things actually leads to problems and may be the source of unhappiness. Some of us spend time perfecting a personal space, constructing an area that emits and encompasses us, a place where the walls are a clear reflection of our past, dreams, goals, and creative expression. Sometimes it's like a creative to-do list, our surroundings may mimic where we want to go, because we haven't quite made it there yet. I pin up fotos, I tape quotes, and I project myself onto the walls because who you are, is what you surround yourself with. I believe in the power of visual literacy, and I prefer my home to speak to me positively, to pat me on the back, and to remind me that I intend to lead, and not follow. Because we know that the outside world has the ability to diminish you and your dreams, it insults our visual taste, and dumbs down our intelligence by using images to persuade instead of educate. What I also realize is the I am privileged enough to have a roof over my head, in where I can create my own world. But what happens when you don't? How do I wrap up everything thats important and speaks to me, and lock it inside to carry it with me wherever I go-so that no matter where I end up, home is ever present?

Last summer I thought by now that I would have moved, I would be attending the photography school that I had chosen, and I would be sorely missing "home" in my new environment. So I made a plan, I determined finances, I spoke to the necessary people, and I realized that if I was gonna do this right, I needed to wait....

Usually I would have had no problem taking out a lifetime of loans, packing my stuff, and leaving loose ends and people behind. But I want this too bad to not be careful along the way. I know the school I want to get in to only accepts the most serious, prepared, educated, and devoted of photographers. They want people that take initiative, and have a good balance of academic plus real world skills. Plus I don't plan on paying for school out of my own pocket, again.

So here I am, getting ahead, securing, preparing, and backing up my goals and intentions. I'm amazed at the opportunities that have come, and continue to come my way. Sometimes I feel as if someone is watching over me, making sure that I do my job, and I live up to my word, while they create a clear path studded with everything I really want and need along the way. And all of these experiences are embodied inside of me, so that wherever I go, when I get there, I will be at home.