College Update

Hey everyone! I thought I would just give y'all a little update on my education. I am almost done with my first semester of college. Crazy right? Photography has been a great experience and I am loving studying the works of other photographers, the inner workings of the camera, and developing my own personal style. I am struggling to bring myself to edit my images though. When I take a picture, I like it to look the way it does when I first shoot it, not like its been Instagrammed. Also, Lightroom is confusing. Math is well...Math. It is actrually easier than my Math was in high school. I love having a teacher again, and I feel like for the first time in my entire life I am really getting these concepts. The homework load is MASSIVE though, and some problems take forever to solve, but I am getting a pretty good grade in the class by my own standard. I am worried about the final, I've never done finals before. English has me writing a lot. Lots of questions to answer and essays to read, but I do enjoy the weekly seminar discussions as they allow me to get a new perspective on the topics at hand. Over the past few weeks, I've been writing a large paper on bullying. it's been fascinating to read some of these stories and statistics, but also quite sad. I am liking college, though I do miss my social life and I am definitely very excited for Christmas break (if that's what they call it here). Well that's all for now, until next time.

-Matthew

Photo Shoot with Joe, Alissa, and Katherine

Yesterday, for my photography class, I went out to Randall Park with my brother and my friend Alissa to take some pictures. Along with me I had a copy of the book Katherine and an umbrella. I had so much fun, and it was definitely much-needed. Here are some of the pics we took.

Searching

 

Peace

  Looking up.

 

At this point my brother suddenly remembered he had "Umbrella" by Rihanna on his phone. Naturally we played it and took pictures with the umbrella.

My teacher loved this one

 

Glamor shot

Thanks for taking the time to look at my photos. And thanks again for Alissa and Joe for being my models. I owe you one :)

-Matthew

You Won Nothing

It bugs me so much when people say "we won the game!" There is no "we" in sports. Unless you are actually a current member of the Seattle Seahawks, you do not play for them and you can not win or lose a game. I know people are fans and they get really into it and they throw parties and watch all the games and buy jerseys and stuff, and that's great. People do deserve to have hobbies and if watching sports just happens to be theirs than good for them. Just don't say a victory was a collaborative effort between you and whatever team you like because it wasn't.

First Day of College and Plain White T's

Sorry, a few days late!

Today I had my first day of college. I was pretty nervous starting out, I mean it's a complete 360 from Westpark Christian Academy. My first class was photography. Everyone seemed just as into taking pictures as me. I really liked the class and I can't wait to learn more about takin' pictures. It's awkward waiting between classes because you don't wanna make eye contact with anyone. So I either texted my 3 friends at college, or pretended to text when they wouldn't respond. Then I went home for my 2 hour break, had lunch, then went back to campus. Kind of awkward because I saw a bunch of people I went to grade/middle school with (worst experience of my life). Luckily I avoided making eye contact with any of them. Math was, well it was Math. I'll leave it at that. Basically it's a harder version of what I did back in middle school. I kind of got tired halfway through. Then I went to English, I like the teacher, he seems nice. I think I'll be doing a lot of writing. After school I did my 49 Math problems then I went over to the fairgrounds to wait for my friend Angelica to finish up at the Bible story booth she was volunteering at. While I was walking around the fairgrounds waiting for her, I tried to take a picture and I realized my camera was broken! SO I had to go the whole night with just the crappy camera on my phone. AND I didn't get any up-close pictures of the concert. Which, by the way, was awesome. I completely freaked out when they played "Our Time Now", and not much can top hearing "Hey There Delilah" live. So yeah... that was my day.

Dear Anonymous

Hello,
We don't know each other very well. I've only seen you around here and there, but yet I feel like I know you very well. You didn't have the best home life. Sometimes, you probably feel like no one cares. You are very wrong. Lots of people care. Over time, you have pushed people away who could've been your friends with your behavior. Your Facebook activity on all of your profiles have had everyone around you very concerned. As they should be. Drugs, sex, dysfunctional relationships, and depression are no laughing matters. And now the news that you have received today. I want you to know that I pray for you every night. I want you to know that there ARE people who care. And I want you to know that God will always be there if you need Him.
God Bless,
-Matthew

R.I.P. Blue Van

Last week we officially sold the blue van. Unfortunately it was replaced by a gold van that looks pretty much the same, but with craptastic back seats. Over the past 8 years the blue van has been on countless road trips, delivered tons of food, hauled lots of friends, and gave me incalcuable headaches during my driver's ed days. Now, it is the end of an era and I must bid thee ado. Farewell blue van. You are gone, but not forgotten.

2005-2013

I Went To Orientation

Yesterday, I went to YVCC for orientation and to register for classes. It was so weird being on the campus. I felt so out of place. It's definitely gonna take some getting used to, going from a school with almost 70 kids to a school with hundreds of students. I met with an advisor and I got into three classes. You wouldn't believe how full everything is! One of my friends is actually taking metalshop because it's the only art class available! I am taking Math 85, Photography (so far there's no teacher), and English 101. It's weird that English is actually what I'm most worried about. I got my books and they seem somewhat boring. No novels, just books about writing and such. My biggest fears are that I will either flunk out, fall asleep in class, or all of the above. Still not sure how I feel about the while college thing. It's gonna take some getting used to, that's for sure. I do miss my friends at Westpark, and it will be sad not to have them by my side throughout my college journey :( Mandy will be taking some Running Start courses, and I might see Becca and Jonah; Hannah, unfortunately, is not going to go to college and unfriended me on Facebook. I start in two weeks!!!! Oh and Amy Rose has officially stolen Ariel's spot on my bed. I'm expecting war to break out at any minute...Until next time.

-M-