Summer Adventures!

Before I left for Portland last summer, I wrote a blog post about what made me want to start exploring a new place every summer in more detail. You can read it here! But to sum up… I decided to start exploring a new place every summer for a couple of main reasons.
 
1. I want to travel.
2. It is HOT in Phoenix.
3. I need to grow.
 
That’s as simple as it is! :) And I’m going to talk a little bit about each of those reasons if you decide to read more! ;) Oh, and below is a photo of where I’m spending this summer! ;) Do you recognize it at all?! Sure, you can just scroll down to the bottom of this post to see a photo of where I’m going that shows it’s worldwide known landmark… or you can read more about my reasons for going. Although I’d love for you to hear my thoughts and my heart… I also understand just wanting to scroll ahead. So do what you gotta do! ;)
 

The first reason is pretty self-explanatory. So is the second reason. Haha. Mainly, I want to travel! I’ve lived the majority of my life in Phoenix. And yes, I enjoy it because my family is here but the desert isn’t my favorite thing to look at. I love green and nature (that is living, haha) and buildings with stories and character! I want to see more of this beautiful world, so I might as well start with my own captivating country! :) There are so many places that I want to see around this world… and so many places in the United States that I want to see. I don’t know that I will ever see it all, but I might as well start! ;)
 
The second reason is that it is HOT in Phoenix in the summer. Like, seriously hot. Like, feel like you’re getting baked in an oven hot. And as a natural light, outdoor photographer… let’s face it… I don’t want to be taking photos in 115 degree weather and you most likely don’t want to have pictures taken of you with sweat dripping down your face. So I might as well go to a city where the weather is nicer, a place where people would PREFER to get photos taken in the summer! :)
 
And the third reason is that I need to grow! I say “need” instead of “want” because I think even though  I love Phoenix because my family is here and because it’s familiar to me. I’m comfortable here and it feels great. But the truth is… we don’t grow when we’re comfortable. We grow when we’re pushed and stretched. We grow OUTSIDE of our comfort zone. It’s easy to choose comfort, to choose familiarity, it’s easy to change nothing. And you know what, I could live like that forever and be content. But I’ve decided that I’d rather give up comfort for growth. I don’t choose that all the time, I live most of my year in a place where I feel comfortable… And that’s why I choose to go somewhere new in the summer, because I need to spend some of my year feeling uncomfortable since that is when I’m pushed to grow. To live in a city that is unfamiliar to me, full of people that I don’t know and places I’ve never been… it’s scary. It’s exciting….and it’s scary.  But, I would rather be scared and grow… than to be comfortable and learn nothing. :)

In my blog post last summer… I said that since it was my second summer leaving Phoenix I could officially start using this word “summer” as a verb. Haha. And now it’s my third summer leaving. And this year… I am summering in SEATTLE!!! :)

 

The truth is, after spending last summer in Portland it was impossibly hard to decide to spend a summer somewhere new because I loved Portland SO MUCH! I visited Seattle for just a couple days last summer and when I was there I decided that I didn’t love it. Haha. I decided that it was too much “city” for me, but I also decided that I wasn’t done exploring the Pacific Northwest! So instead of going back to Portland, a place that I now feel comfortable and familiar with, I decided to choose a place that I knew I would enjoy exploring and a place that I’m confident I will be pushed to grow in! :)
 
I’m BEYOND excited (and scared) to be spending most of my summer in Seattle! I can’t wait to explore this city and find new places and people to love! :) And I’m officially BOOKING shoots for this summer in Seattle!!! :) If you live in Seattle or near there or will be visiting there this summer, contact me!! I would LOVE to take your photos in this beautiful city!!! :)