such is life

YOU DUN DID IT. Nice job. 

santorini, greece
oia
8:30 pm

sunsets, to me, have always been the best reminder of the beauty of God's creation. we get so used to our everyday surroundings that the beauty of things like ocean waves and the color of someone's eyes become mundane and normal when they are meant to be appreciated and inspiring. this was at the tip of the island atop some ruins on santorini in greece. it was our first night in greece and we had battled our way through a seemingly endless sea of people to make it to this point. amid the selfie sticks and honeymooners we found an empty spot. we sat. there was one thing almost more beautiful than the sunset itself: the people watching it. 

wheaton, il. 
unidentified parking structure
6:15pm

my favorite day of freshman year. summer vibes & full hearts. spent with forever people. 

wheaton, il. 
unidentified parking structure
6:15pm

my favorite day of freshman year. summer vibes & full hearts. spent with forever people. 

wheaton, il. 
unidentified parking structure
6:21pm

my favorite day of freshman year. summer vibes & full hearts. spent with forever people. 

chicago, il.
metra - green line
7:31 pm

"we were always gonna get too close/
we were always gonna fall in love"

-without you, parachute

san francisco, ca
golden gate bridge
1:22 pm

this picture was taken on my film camera during a spring break trip to San Francisco. someone who wasn't quite familiar with the mechanics of a film camera and the element of focus took it. at first, I thought it was quite possibly the worst picture anyone could have taken. but I've grown to like it. not only do I appreciate the person who took it quite a lot, but I appreciate the uniqueness of the photo. we like to think that there are sure, concrete things to focus on in life. but often times, the things we really need to focus on are something out of the ordinary or unexpected. that could be a stretch, but it's a pretty cool photo nonetheless. 

wheaton, il
gold star chapel
9:48 pm

I go to a small, private, Christian college. in a place where you are surrounded by people with the same/very similar beliefs as you and you are going to classes like Old Testament and Christian Thought, it can be easy to fall into a pattern of lukewarm faith. it can be easy to neglect simple things like prayer when your professors pray at the beginning of every class. when I was at the peak of distress and anxiety during my freshman year, I found solace in a small chapel hidden in the hallway of our commons building. I sat in the little pews and just breathed and talked to God. there's a table in the middle of the room littered with post-its and note cards with all kinds of prayer requests scribbled on them. going through other people's grievances and stresses and adding to them with my own reminded me that I am not alone. it reminded me that though we all fight our own battles, we all serve a great King. 

mill valley, ca.
muir woods national park
4:06 pm

some of my favorite things in this world are my family and smiling. put those two together, and you could have the power to break my heart in the best way. 

seattle, washington
columbia center
7:44 pm

I think it's okay to call someone the love of your life, even if you're not 100 percent certain that they will truly be your love for the rest of your life. because at some point or another, you did. and right now, I do. no one can tell the future, but your heart doesn't lie. and mine isn't lying when it looks and you and knows you are the love of my life. 

seattle, wa.
denny blaine park
8:37 pm

no matter where you are, no matter your age, no matter what you're going through--always make time to catch a sunset. they are one of life's only eternally beautiful things. 

seattle, wa.
pike place public market
4:04 pm

everyone deserves to receive flowers, even if they're from yourself. treat yourself today. 

los angeles, ca
red lobster
4:02pm

I believe there is nothing scarier than watching your siblings grow up. because no matter how many inches they grow or how many boys ask for their number or how much makeup they begin to wear, in your mind you will always see the terribly tiny child hobbling around the house with sticky fingers and wild curls sprouting from her head. you will always remember her in her high chair with an impossible amount of food smeared on her face. and while she still may end up with food on her face at the end of a meal, she is now aware of how silly it looks. and now she wipes it away on her own, just like that sweet innocence that once covered her entire being. it's scary, watching your siblings grow up. but it is less scary knowing that at the end of the day--whether they are nine or thirteen or twenty-three years old--they will still crawl into bed with you and cuddle away all the fears and worries of watching someone you love so very much become their own person.

san antonio, texas
local coffee
5:17pm

I like my coffee black and he likes his with less coffee and more cream. I think that is a good representation of who we are. he is impossibly sweet and appreciates things in the world that are lighter and though his coffee is overflowing with sugar, that is the way that he loves. I have a flair for the bitter side of life. I am more pessimistic and, truthfully, a bit cynical. I don't like much cream because I like to appreciate the flavor and depth of the coffee, but that is the way I love. and while I can get lost in the depths of darker things in life, he pulls me back with his sugary, albeit sappy, way of bringing me out of myself and into the light. I like my coffee black and he likes his with less coffee and more cream, and that is the way we love.

chicago, il
millennium park
4:45 pm

someone once described me as a city, and I liked that a lot. mostly because you would be hard pressed to find something that makes me feel more alive than being in the middle of my favorite city during the holiday season, with a tree lit up and glittering, looking the way I felt inside.

big bear, california
big bear lake
6:55 pm

two roomates, two worlds colliding, one sunset.

we tend to compartmentalize certain friends from particular parts of our lives, and it is generally terrifying when those little compartments leak into one another. it is much easier, however, when it comes to two people you would go to the ends of the earth for. because now they are no longer on opposite ends and when you go to the end of the earth for one, the other is there waiting.