drew.anne.'s photostream  

a little bit stronger.
a little bit bolder.

It's funny how God can make everything you ask for magically appear. Considering all you have to do is ask, that shouldn't be surprising since he is a God full of love, compassion and grace (all I wish I could be).

This year I've wanted to be stronger. Unbroken. Bolder. For some reason I didn't really think about it up until I've realized that I've been given so many opportunities so far and I've been doing pretty well but not changing too much. I want to find myself and believe in myself and what I am capable of--with the almighty hand of God of course. Without him I would be nothing.

I just hope pray that I will actually realize the opportunities I've been given before they are gone.

The picture above is of me and my booboo Elvis :) He likes to sneak up on me and watch whenever I am taking pictures, but isn't too happy to actually have to be IN them. He enjoys plopping himself down in my lap, but the camera makes him a little nervous.

Also, I put some of the photos in the comments of what my life has been like recently. They were also in the last photo but I feel like they went unnoticed because I put them up today and the photo was uploaded a week ago....such is life. Oh and I added some more to it. So you should take a peek.

--Drew

{+ MORE photos in comments}

i dare you to let me be your one and only,
i promise i'm worthy to hold in your arms.

Adele knows exactly what I'm feeling just about 99% of the time.
I'm not sure if I like this yet, I might replace it later. I've been playing with my editing and adding more color to my photos like this one.

Besides the fact I've been at the high school till 10ish with rehearsals every night this week it's been good :) I should be doing some homework right now but I decided to get this up instead.

It's weird all the comments I've heard from people about the play. Whenever I go see people after the show, they're all somehow amazed at this side of me they've never seen. To give you a little background, I play showgirl/backup singer Charity one of the four "Angels". More like fallen angels if you get my drift. Either way, I don't know whether to take it as a compliment or not that I can be sexy every once and a while.

Sexy to me is loving who you are and being comfortable in your own skin. No, I would never be able to be a Victoria's Secret model considering I am NOT comfortable strutting around in my undies on live television. But--personally--I feel sexy just being me. No makeup, wearing my hoodie and sweats just hanging out. As I've gotten older I've realised it doesn't take being a stick thin model or a skank to feel sexy. I like myself and there isn't anything I'd really want to change. Well....maybe my little pudge on my belly....but that's beside the point.

I've enjoyed growing in myself and becoming who I'm supposed to be. Yes, I have my insecurities but I don't let them get in the way of who I am and who I want to be.

p.s. I have been told by some of my cast members that I look like a mix of Taylor Swift and Marilyn Monroe in the play. I definitely take that as a compliment. Taylor Swift is such an inspiration because of her values and that she has gone for her dreams. Marilyn Monroe is one of the sexiest women that has ever walked the Earth. So all in all I guess I've been doing a good job at something :)

--Drew

3/52

{+ more photos in comments from my daily life}

and i, i have much farther to go.
and i, i'm so confused i know.
but i am free.

2/52

I'm having a little writers block this morning as I sip my yummy hazelnut latte (I can make 'em as good as Starbucks). But either way, I'll continue writing about my little journey.

If you haven't already figured out, the girl jumping in the photo is not me. I rolled my ankle last night attempting to jump rope! It's doing better and hopefully I'll be able to go ice skating later :D. Anyway, thats Madie who is absolutely amazing and flexible in all the ways I am not. She is so awesome that I can ask her to come over to my house at 9pm to jump around in the freezing cold in the middle of the street to model for me. If that's not the definiton of good friends, I don't know what is. She came over and we had a blast running from cars and making sure she didnt fall over the chords and ended the night with hot chocolate and marshmallows. All in all a good end of the day! :)

Besides schoolwork I've been uber busy with the school play. I'm one of the Angels in "Anything Goes" which kind of funny because y'all should know enough about me to know I'm not sexy in any way nor do I drink or am a floozy. It's been fun to experiment with my acting skills and get to dance some "dirty blues". More or less it's hilarious.

Enough about my life, how is everyone else doing? I'm thinking of posting some photos from my everyday life rather than just photography. So possibly stay tuned for that. And I've had some questions recently about my views on some different things like love, life, etc, etc ever since I started ranting in a couple of my past photos. If anyone really wants me to talk about them, I will.

--Drew

dreams are perfect.
reality is not.
but, that doesn't make it any less beautiful.

I just had to upload this one :) It's one of my favorites suprisingly. I took it while shoot for my 52 weeks project and it has stood out to me ever sense.

In the comments on my last photo a very lovely lady told me I have a "unique beauty". Something different. Something special--to me at least. I know that I'm not perfect which is even apparent in this photo. I have freckles all over and my face isn't perfectly symmetrical. I forgot to edit out some basic blemishes and the dark circles under my eyes. I've been told I have "bush brows" (I actually love my brows thank you very much) and that my nose is a little crooked. But even with all these imperfections and scars that mark my face and my body, am I to be considered ugly? or hideous? Just because I am not perfect, doesn't make me any less.

I have come to adore this photo the more I look at it because you can almost hear my laugh as I watch my dog fall off of the bed (which was really happening). You can see my dimples and the creases on my forehead from raising my eyebrows and I bet I am already developing smile lines around my eyes.

Now that I have babbled for a little bit, let me get to my point. Perfection isn't everything. The dreams we have of being beautiful and perfect aren't very realistic. It's not that we will never be beautiful, it's the fact that we are beautiful just not the perfect beauty we have always imagined (clear skin, perfect nose, mouth, teeth, body--you know what I'm talking about). We all have a unique beauty that makes us who we are. For instance, I used to hate the way I laughed. I thought it was ugly and obnoxious because I didn't have a pretty soft laugh like one of my friends. Now that I am not 10 years old, I've come to love the weird quirks that I have. Like everytime I go get my nails done (which is like never) the little asian ladies always tell me they will make my brows pretty like theirs which are usually so thin they need to paint parts of them on. I'm not saying thin eyebrows are bad, but I really don't want someone to tell me what's considered "pretty". I can decide for myself and not have to change for anyone.

Love yourself. You're the only self you have.
Hopefully this made sense. If not: tough cookies.

--Drew

what doesn't kill you makes you stronger
stand a little taller
doesn't mean i'm lonely
when i'm alone

1/52

{+1 comments}

I have probably listened to this song about 50 times in the past few days. Besides the signifigant other part, the resolution I made on New Year's was to be stronger. Stronger in the way I run, in my confidence, and in just about everything else I do. This year isn't about average resolutions like losing weight or other cliches (although I would like to continue to be fit), it's about finding myself and becoming who I want to be. Stronger.

That's why I chose to do a simple black and white as my first photo--kind of like a before shot. On week 52--no matter what I look like--I want to be someone new. Not necessarily change completely--just improved. I want this 52 week journey to document the changes in me through photos and my writing. To help me grow in my work and actually think through my photos a little more. I want to become more of an artist like the wonderful people I have "religeously followed" from day one of my photographic journey :)

A special thanks to sopranosflight, Sheltered Willow and MeggieChristine for being there for me always and to my new friend The phoenix fire. Please check out their streams and continue with me in my little journey :) it's something I couldn't do without the support from my friends and family.

--Drew