alyssa.noel's photostream

January 9, 2011~
Christmas break has been lovely... simply lovely.

To begin, I have now moved back home for who knows how long,
I am now the proud owner of a white, 2002 honda accord. :)
I love my job.
My family stayed home for Christmas, which we hardly ever do.
It was very nice and laid back.
I am no longer a teenager... I hit the big 20 on the 30th. :)
My family went to Knoxville for New Years.
As always, it was so good to see everyone there.
On the 3rd, Ray and I traveled what's becoming a bi-annual trip for us- up to Pennsylvania.
It was jam packed, but a really, really great, much-needed trip.
And we got to celebrate our 1 year anniversary by driving home 13 hours. :P

Home now, praying all of my Nashville State mess clears up so I can start school on Thursday!
Again... time is absolutely, positively flying.

December 12, 2011

When did it turn into December??
I swear.... the clocks are moving faster than ever.

After every semester I say the exact same thing,
but this time I mean it more than ever: I can't believe it's over.
It was JUST August... I was JUST starting my sophomore year...
I was JUST moving into my apartment...
and now, here I sit, packing up my room yet again.

I don't wish the time would slow down,
but I do wish I was better at change.
I feel as though the rest of my life is simply going to be change after change.
Changing schools, changing friends, changing homes.
It's exhausting... mostly emotional...
I think the older you get the more you just learn to....
let things go... move on... because you have no other choice.

So now would be a good time to let you know that I've decided to transfer schools.
I will be attending Nashville State come January 12th
as a Visual Communications major with an emphasis in photography.
Watkins is an incredible school that will always have a special place in my heart.
I would recommend it to anyone looking to have a career in fine arts photography.
I, however, have discovered that I am not looking for that career,
and my heart lies with more commercial photography: weddings, portraits, etc.
Watkins has provided an amazing foundation for my photography,
but I feel like Nashville State will provide more of what I am looking to do.
It used to seem like a really big thing to me.
Few people begin college with the idea of transferring in the middle of their sophomore year...
It took me by surprise as much as anyone else I suppose.
It's incredibly bittersweet especially when you throw in the relationships I've built at Watkins,
like the lovely people above^^
but I can't describe how wholeheartedly I feel like this is the path I should take.
I'm really excited, and mostly I just feel so blessed to know what I want and what I need to get there.

So looking forward to rest in the midst of lots of activity this holiday season. :)
Hopefully I can post pictures from my final Photo III assignment soon.
It was quite a labor of love!

November 18, 2011

My word... where has the past month gone?

Shortly after my last post, I got a new job!
I am now working for Carrie's Coffee...
Carrie runs two little coffee shop/convenience stores inside major office buildings.
I work with all women ages ranging 20-late 50s.
We all have a blast making sandwiches and chatting with the office people.
I feel really blessed to have found such a laid back environment that pays well and works for my schedule!
I am thoroughly enjoying it, though the early mornings it requires are starting to take their toll on me.
I'm not really a morning person and where it feels good to be up and productive early in the day,
the late nights my school work requires is becoming entirely exhausting.

I only have THREE more weeks of school left, though. I can't believe it.
The semester literally just started it feels like.
They are going to be intense,
but once I get the writing papers part out of the way,
I will be free to take photo after photo for all my classes!

In other news... I'm finally getting a car!!!
We're trying to find the perfect one, which is a little frustrating,
but I can't wait until we find it!
The Lord has certainly humbled me over the last year or so
regarding material objects and trusting his provision.
I've been pretty dependent on Ray or Courtney to get me everywhere,
and I'm more thankful than I think they realize for such selfless friends as them!!

Hoping to get some good sleep this weekend/over Thanksgiving break.
Wish me luck!

October 22, 2011~

Oh how I love family photo day!
My family was decently cooperative this year.
After I picked out everyone's outfits, ironed them, etc...
They willingly posed for a good half hour.
Dad even put his LSU game on hold... wow! ;)
They may put up a fuss, but one day they'll thank me- I'm sure of it!!

October 14, 2011

Welcome to my life:
large format photography.

For the past 3 weeks, my life has looked like this:
1) Photo project assigned Wednesday.
2) 24 hours to think about said photo project and come up with an idea for it.
3) Drive across town to buy 25 sheets of film for 30 dollars and maybe some just as expensive photo paper if I'm almost out.
4) Work out a plan in which Ray, Courtney, and I can have all of the equipment we need on the days we need- because if we don't check out a camera or cameras on such and such day at such and such time, we might miss the 5 hour slot we all have free during our week to shoot pictures.
5) Check out a humongous camera along with all the necessary accessories: tripod, loupe, dark cloth, light meter, film holders, and shutter release cable.
6) Spend hours upon hours taking 3, maybe 4 shots if we're lucky, each.
7) Spend an hour in a light tight, chemical infested room developing film the same night as #6 because, of course, we have to empty our film holders to return the next morning.
8) Next step: hours upon hours spent in the darkroom making contact sheets and perfecting prints for critique on the following Wednesday.
9) repeat.

So where I have been other than following the routine above and getting very little sleep?
Buried under paints and color theory for 2-D,
notecards and jeopardy playing for my photo history midterm,
Dreamweaver, CSS and HTML codes for digital imaging
as well as remembering to take a picture of myself every day for that class.

I clean my room every day because somehow it re messes itself up every day.
I finally get around to washing the dirty clothes pile in my room
and then do you know what?
I have a whole new pile of clothes that I have to put away!
So I'm also buried under clothes.

Anywho... Life's pretty stressful.
Not to mention we all came down with something last week
and took turns sneezing and snotting and wanting to die. =P
Never have I so much understood the need for fall break.
and never have I spent so little time on the computer!
Which is kind of nice.

All this to say.... I'm reminded of the song "You're Gonna Miss This" pretty much every day.
Life is always going to be insane... Of course in much different ways,
but I know I'm going to miss the kind of insane I experience these days.
I'll miss the beauty and magnificence of large format photography.
I'll miss the organizing behind equipment checkout, because secretly, I love it.
I'll miss the hours it takes to take a few pictures
and the hours it takes to develop those few pictures
and the hours it takes to print those few pictures
because I'm sure someday I'll be doing things for hours upon hours that I do not enjoy.
I'll miss painting all day
and playing games with my best friends as a way to study
and I know I'll miss putting together websites,
because again- I secretly love the complicated puzzliness behind it.
I'll miss cleaning my tiny, little room,
because.. Lord willing, someday I'll have an entire house to clean and a lot more laundry to do.

I'll miss everything about this stage of life...
It is truly an incredible one.