superpowers

dress/shoes: target // shirt: thrifted // tights: diy




When I was younger, I went to a really conservative Christian school. The guys were only allowed to wear jeans on Fridays, and slacks the rest of the days, and girls were only allowed to wear slacks on Fridays, and skirts/dresses that touched the knee (or longer) the rest of the week. There were a lot of other strict rules about dress code, such as no shirts with words, sleeves had to cover your shoulders, guys' hair couldn't touch their ears and they weren't allowed to have facial hair. On Wednesdays they had to wear a button down shirt, and most of them just wore a tie with it (the girls were always excited about that). I'm not saying these things to put down my old school, because that was the best school I ever went to. The administrators said that one reason they had such a strict dress code was because of the fact that when students dress better, they perform better.




I've really taken that to heart over the years and have discovered that to one extent or another it's true. Clothes have this powerful ability to manipulate our emotions and how we feel, and oftentimes we aren't even aware of it. That's why my old school never let us come to class wearing sweatpants and t-shirts, because if we did we would be more likely to slack on our schoolwork. That's not to say that wearing sweats and t-shirts equates to slacking, but wearing something that resembles pajamas does have an impact on performance. But it's not only about fabric options as much as whether or not you feel confident in what you're wearing. Despite all the fashion trends that come and go, if you don't feel confident in what you're wearing, then it will affect how you feel. Clothes can make us feel sexy, powerful, adventurous, you name it, and they can also make us feel ugly, frumpy, sluggish. And the list goes on and on. Not only do clothes have this ability to change how we feel, but we have the ability to change our clothes. It's all an effort of tapping in to the power of a garment to feel a certain way as you go throughout your day. You don't necessarily have to dress up all the time. I have a few staple outfits that I wear over again on those days where I don't really feel like stepping outside of the fashion box, but when I still want to feel good. If you feel confident and alert in a t-shirt and jeans, then by all means, wear that. That's the joy of personal style. It is completely unique to each person. For me personally, I've found that I usually feel most confident in fun colors and patterns, and while that's not always "in style," those are the things that make me perform the best and make me feel the most happy about who I am. When we realize that a simple article of clothing has this power and when we realize that we can use that power to our advantage, then there's nothing we won't be able to do.





I hope you have a really beautiful day!

my week in instagram #34 + weekly roundup

three of my photos in the Anchorage newspaper! // watching the historical superbowl // dirty/cut up hands from working in the shop // my college at night // 365 photos all in a big pile // my first darkroom print! // new purple tips // my 365 gallery // epic pool time

You can follow more instagram awesomeness @impulsings :)

Weekly roundup (an effort to maintain my new years resolutions):

1. novel: I basically fail at this resolution.
2. photos: working on my second photo for this month!
3. diy project: still in the works.
4. outfit photos: not this past week. In my defense though the week was taken over by my 365 gallery show.
5. college street style: yep!
6. book: still working through my first one.
7. sketch: Not this week. :/

I hope you have a great week everyone!

365 Gallery Show

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted much this week, but I'm actually not that sorry because I've been busy with something really awesome. A couple weeks ago I was talking with my friend Ben, who encouraged me to show all of my 365 photos in a gallery on campus. Then fast forward to Tuesday when I casually went in to the Art Department (where Ben was conveniently the secretary at the time), and then three minutes later casually walked out with a two week show time starting this Saturday (yes, today). So my entire week has been consumed with putting this show together, skipping going to meals to eat in my room and work, staying up extra late to file photos and label and cut out things, and finally putting them all up one by one on display. Yesterday was the day to set up, and my friends and I spent about five hours in the gallery, but it was well worth it!



Before, with sad bare walls, taylor resting her legs before we even start, and Ivy modeling the gopro that was so elegantly taped to my tripod to film our endeavour.



Wall one, two, and three. It was completely surreal to see a year's worth of work all up on the wall. If I had known that all these photos would have eventually been shown in a gallery, I might have tried harder on the project, but I still am really proud of all of them as a whole. I love how you can see my progress from day one to day three hundred and sixty five, and how my style developed and changed, and I love how each photo has a unique story about it. Today I'll be hanging out at the gallery and hopefully people ask a lot of questions, because this is one thing that I am incredibly passionate about and I love being able to share it with other people.



And finally, here is a timelaps video of my day yesterday! Thank you to everyone who helped me in any way with this project, from finding materials for me to putting all the photos together, from lending supplies and bringing me food while I was working to coming and hanging out during set up, and thank you to all the people who have and will show up for the show. Photography is meant to be shared so I am incredibly thankful for everyone who allows me to share this little piece of me with them.

365 Art Gallery Show 2013 from Lauren Parker on Vimeo.

a thousand million words

Hey guys! Today I'm guest posting over on A Thousand Million Words, so be sure to check it out here!

we keep waiting

sweater/tights: borrowed // shorts/lace shirt/earrings: thrifted // boots: target




Happy Tuesday everyone! Tuesdays are my busy days, with four classes that are all at least 80 minutes long, and my last class not ending until 5:25. Yikes. But school has been good. Every day I can't believe how fast the time flies, even though each individual day seems long. My dad already bought my plane ticket for spring break, and I can't even believe it's almost that time of year. I can't believe I'm almost done with my first year of college. When I was little, I used to hate being the oldest child because that meant I had to experience everything first--first to drive a car, first to graduate high school, first to go to college, and that terrified me as a seven, eight, nine year old. (And even in my senior year of high school I was terrified.) But now it seems like a breeze, an exciting adventure that I love living out. Sometimes it is hard and stressful and I don't always know what I'm doing, but that's all a part of the journey.



As for my wardrobe, I've been trying to plan out my outfits a little better instead of picking clothes out in a half dazed state of morning grogginess. And with that I've been trying to accessorize more. I'm really bad at doing it, and I'm sure I haven't bought a new necklace in years, but I really think jewelry can be that icing on the cake for an outfit, so I'm trying to make a conscious effort to incorporate those pieces into my daily ensembles. We'll see how this pans out.




Have a great day everyone!

my week in instagram #33

my clean dorm room // taking pictures in the fog with Amy // my favorite spot on campus // developed my first roll of film! // had another fire in our dorm thanks to the boys // me, haaah // preview weekend with some awesome prospective students // traveling down Oregon roads // photo adventure with flickr people!

This has been yet another fantastic week. You can follow all of my adventures @impulsings !

Weekly roundup (an effort to maintain my new years resolutions):

1. novel: nope. still didn't write a page. I need to get better at doing this one.
2. photos: just came back from a day of shooting, so I'm well on my way.
3. diy project: finished two, now just have to put them up for you!
4. outfit photos: done!
5. college street style: nope, didn't do this one.
6. book: almost done with my first one.
7. sketch: worked on a cute photo this week.
8. money: saving up.

Other resolutions that included more vague ideas like getting my work out there and going to meetups were successful this week. I just came back from spending a day with my friend Heather, a previous flickr friend and now a real life friend (I'll have a post about it soon). Yay for meetups! And I just learned today that three of my photos made it into the Anchorage newspaper, which is definitely big for making people be aware that I'm around, and it was incredibly exciting to wake up to that news.

I hope your week is fantastic!

the first days of spring

jean dress/shoes: forever 21 // button-down shirt: thrifted // pin: antique shop




Things are starting to get warmer here in Oregon! I can almost go outside without a coat and scarf, but part of me is still holding on to the feeling of winter and layering up and being warm and cozy in a bunch of clothes. Also this weekend has been the scholarship competition for preview students, so my roommate Annette and I have been housing two really awesome girls that had better come to hang out with us at college next year! It's hard to believe that less than a year ago I was doing the exact same thing, staying in a freshman's dorm, walking around my college for the first time, and being completely overwhelmed. I'll never cease to be amazed by the concept of time and how overtime people change and morph into different versions of themselves. I remember I was so sad to leave my college after that weekend and I couldn't wait to go back, and now I get to live here every day and every day is a new adventure and there are opportunities for me everywhere. I just really am in love with this place and all the people here.




Speaking of school, on Thursday I got to develop my very first roll of black and white film! It was so exciting and scary to be working with film in pitch black and then messing with chemicals. Next week I'll make prints of the photos and see if I actually did a decent job of getting the right exposure and such, but for now I'm just happy I didn't destroy my film, haha. I can't wait to show you guys the results from that!




I hope you have a really awesome day.

january in review

What what what? January is already over with? This month has just flown by, and I'm sad to see it go. January is probably one of my favorite months, because not only is it my birthday month, but it represents new beginnings and new outlooks on a new year. Looking back on January, I can see it's been a great start to the year, and it's only going to get better!

a universe in my head

dress: mom's closet // skirt: borrowed // long socks: forever 21 // shoes: target




There are a lot of changes in the air. I can feel it every day when I wake up and go out into the chilling Oregon air and when I come back to my dorm to relax. It peeks its head into conversations over lunch and behind moss-covered trees when I'm walking on the gravel trails. Perhaps this is simply me "growing up," even though I hesitate to use those words because I don't ever really want to grow up. I guess I'm just coming to terms with the fact that I have a certain responsibility in life and I should actually take this life seriously--not in the sense that I become a serious person--but in the sense that I only have one chance to do things, and the sooner I realize that sometimes I have to buckle down and get things done, the sooner I can live the life I've always imagined.

The change is in the little things thus far. I'm keeping my room clean, I'm in tune with my school work, I'm planning things and taking care of things and just actively living and thriving instead of just surviving. I'm actually wanting to do homework and I'm excited to learn (especially in my photography class). I guess you could say I feel very adult right now (though I know even just a year from now I'll think current me was so young and immature!). At any rate, that shift into becoming a responsible adult has not gone unnoticed, though I do hope I won't lose particular childlike tendencies. There's that certain magic of childhood that I had spent years cultivating and now I'm at a point where I refuse to let go of those memories and shapings, and perhaps even create some more childish fantasies even as I enter into an adult life.




When I was little, I drew out maps of Fairyland and danced around in my backyard pretending that I was transported into that world. My very best fairy friend was a girl named Jopey and she and I fought alongside each other in the great Fairy battle. Those imaginings were fueled by stories like the Anne of Green Gables series, At the back of the North Wind, Harriet the Spy, and the Eragon Series, (books that I still read to this very today). I even wrote stories about my adventures and charted locations and made a special bracelet that allowed me to transport into that world. It was a huge part of my childhood, where everything was not as it seemed and adventure was around every corner.

Of course now I know that those things weren't reality, but that doesn't mean they weren't real. The stories from my childhood I'm turning into novels today, those little colored pencil maps have become a giant piece of artwork (one I'm still working on), and I'm still chasing the same light I did years ago.

I guess I just never want to look at anything like it's ordinary.





Well this post has taken a super personal turn (I'm sure no one's surprised by that at this point). Those things that I dreamed up have really shaped me into who I am today, and it's so interesting to look back and see what things have formed certain things in my life. Is there anything from your childhood that shaped you in some way? I would love to hear about it!

I hope you all have a really fantastic day.

Oh! And I forgot to mention some exciting news, actually. I'm now blogging for my university's new online website, where once a week I post about anything related to fashion and personal style. You can check out my first little introductory article here, and be sure to check back there every Wednesday to read a new article from yours truly!

now open: print shop!

I'm happy to announce that you can now purchase prints from me. Anything on my flickr is up for grabs, as well as never released images in my new print shop, so be sure to check it out! (details about shipping + pricing are on my print shop)

photo adventure with Grace and Sarah

A few days before I went back to Oregon, I had the honor of hanging out with two insanely talented photographers Grace and Sarah! We were all in town at the same time and decided it was finally time to meet in person, so we all went to a coffee shop to talk and figure out where we were going to shoot. Grace took us to a really cool greenhouse, which was perfect as it was freezing outside and no one particularly wanted to spend a couple hours in the dry Alaska snow, so with the birds chirping in their giant cage and the green plants growing all around, we spent our time taking pictures of each other and playing with each other's cameras and props.






When we first arrived, a moose decided to show up, so of course we had to instagram it. Only in Alaska.




One of my new years resolutions (more of a dream, since it was something I couldn't really work toward) was going to a photo gathering, so being able to meet photographers that I had admired on the internet was a dream in of itself. The fact that it was Grace and Sarah made it even more awesome, because they are two beautiful individuals inside and out and are incredibly talented. It's awesome to be around people who are passionate about the same thing I am passionate about, and we can play off of each other's ideas and learn things about what we love. Even in just the few hours hanging out with them, I learned so many new techniques I've been able to use in my own photography. If I can learn that much in just a few hours, I can't imagine what I would learn over a week, or an entire semester. (They also made me want to update all my equipment too, haha. Why do my hobbies have to be so expensive?)


Sarah

Grace


I'm so so glad I was able to meet Sarah and Grace, and I hope, not only that we'll be able to shoot together in the future, but also that getting to meet up with photographers so early in the year is a good indication of how the rest of my year will go!

p.s. I still have photos to edit from this day.

p.s.s. You should check out the post that Sarah did!

my week in instagram #32 + weekly roundup

my last day of being eighteen // looking over a beautiful city // going to the chocolatefest! // waking up to snow on the ground // finally shooting photos for my photography class // getting pretty prints in the mail // missing Matt // going to art shows // looking at books in the coffee shop

You can follow my adventures on instagram @impulsings

And in an effort to actually follow through with new years resolutions, every week along with my instagram post, I'll do a bit of a weekly roundup so that you guys can track my progress with my resolutions and so that I can keep myself accountable.

1. I didn't write a page in my novel this week, but then again, I wrote about fifteen pages total for various classes and newspaper stuff, so at least I was writing.

2. I've got more than two photos under my belt for this month.

3. I thus far haven't done a diy project, but I have purchased/found the tools for three. It's all an effort of actually doing something, which I may or may not get to by the time this month ends.

4. Two outfit posts? Check!

5. I successfully took an outfit photo this week. :)

6. Haven't read in my book this week, but I still have a few more days before the end of the month.

7. If you count doodles as sketching, then yes. But I have been doing creative things in the arena of photo props, so yay.

8. Considering I spent no money this week, I'm good.

It's been a pretty successful week, even amongst all the stress. But now it's behind me and next week should be pretty relaxing.

Hope your week is good as well!

partner with introvert's introduction!

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