navy dress/shoes: thrifted // daisy dress: asos (similar) // tights: mom's closet
As an "I survived my first year of college" gift, I treated myself to some bright red lipstick from the boutique walle marte. I actually have a fairly decent lipstick collection (well, I have about five different bottles) but I usually don't wear them as they fade pretty quickly. I'm trying to wear them more often in an effort to not bite my lips anymore, and thankfully this fun red shade is a balm stain and stays on for a long time.
Man, can I just be really honest here? Sometimes I really question if I want to do photography as a full time profession. Now don't go freaking out on me, ya silly gooses. I've been reading so many articles on optimizing your website and self advertising and social media and quotes and invoices and SEO and HTML and let me just say that owning your own business is certainly not for the faint of heart. One moment I'm so excited for what the future holds and all the opportunities and things I'm going to do, and the next moment I just want to give up and not have to stress about marketing myself and my services and talents. But I am really glad that my passions are all connected to each other--writing, photography, blogging--and I can use each thing to build up an online presence to get my work out there. Unlike a real job, I have to be my own boss, my own market researcher, my own advertising company, you get the picture. It's really hard, stressful work. But I love it. There's nothing else I would rather be doing. Plus, I don't think I would do well at having a "real" job. I could never ever be a waitress or a cashier or a barista, no thank you. You guys who do that are really brave, and I could never do what you do!
It's so cool that everyone has different passions and talents. I'm reminded of my blogging friends Annika and Hannah, who are super gifted when it comes to science and are totally going to change the world. My friend Lauren got a job at Aeropostale and that is just the coolest thing to me. Sara is a creative writing grad student and she'll probably end up on the New York Times bestsellers list. My fellow Alaskan blogger Katie works with horses on a daily basis. My little sister went through a horse phase so I kind of know what caring for a horse entails, and that is certainly no small feat. My real life friend Brady just started his own clothing line, which is already gaining a good following and will continue to do so. My boyfriend Matt is even pursuing his passion for film and he's really talented with anything he sets his mind to. My friend Jacob is the single most talented person I know. He's currently building an app for a coffee company and knows literally everything about computers and cars. (I keep going back and adding more and more people to this list, haha.) And there are so many of my other blogger and photographer and IRL friends that I could mention, because we all have something unique about us. We all have unique gifts that we are pursuing and it's such a beautiful thing. What's something that you're super passionate about? I would love to hear it!
May 21, 2010, my sister and I looking out the window in our cabin onto the ocean during the four day ferry ride.
Three years ago today, my family moved thousands of miles from everything we knew to embark on a new adventure. My father retired from the military and got a new job, and after living in the beautiful state of Oklahoma for five years, we packed our belongings and the six of us jumped in our trusty brown van to drive from Moore, Oklahoma all the way to Alaska. After spending two years in the last frontier previously, my parents were excited to finally go back to cool weather, fishing, friends, and snow. But my life was in Oklahoma, my friends, my church, my school (our class was like one big family). I've been through some tough things physically and experiencially, but moving this time around was by far the hardest thing for me. To go from having friends and a life that you are happy with to a place where no one talks to you and you spend months not hanging out with anyone and being completely alone, it puts a strain on your heart. I still feel the effects from it ... a memory, a song, certain people on facebook, old diary entries, old photographs, even packing to leave college brought me to many tears because I know what putting things in a box really means ... it means leaving all the things and people you love, and it strips you of the person you become until you don't even know who you are anymore.
As I look back on who I was before I moved, who I was for the next two years, and who I am now, I am thankful for how far I've come. Though I would never want to experience it again, I'm glad I moved to Alaska. I fully believe that all things happen for a reason, and even in the darkest times in my life, I see how God was working and helping me through it. If I had never moved to Alaska, I would have never met Matt. I would have never started blogging. I would have never been able to explore the most beautiful place on earth. I would have never ended up at the college that I'm at now. And there's probably many other things I wouldn't have been able to do and become that I won't ever know about. Would I do it again? No. But would I wish it never happened? Never. I am so thankful it occurred, because from it my life is now filled with so much love I can hardly contain it.
Three years ago today, my life was dragged out from under me, and now I never take for granted my home, or my family, or the friends that love me for who I am. I remember everything that happened three years ago today. And it still makes me cry. Sometimes I still miss my friends in Oklahoma. I miss that we never talk anymore. I miss that they moved on and found new friends. Sometimes I hate that things have to change, but it's inevitable, and we just have to accept it and make the most of it. Life goes on and we have to cherish everything we have right now.
"May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand."
shirt: Matt's // skirt/tights: thrifted // boots: forever 21
I hope everyone had a fun mother's day yesterday! Considering that was all anyone talked about on facebook, I would say everyone had a swell time. My little sister and I had been working hard on a mother's day present for our mom. I printed out a photo of the both of us and she and I wrote a poem together. It made our mom cry, so I would say it was a very successful present. But seriously though, my mom is the best.
So I have a funny story to tell you all. At least, it was hilarious for me. So backspace to Saturday. My parents were going to be running errands all day, so they left me in charge to get my brothers to an event in the morning. So I woke up, got ready to take them, and we were all ready to go, when we began to wonder where the car keys were (our family has two cars, and my parents took one of them). We searched through the entire house, and came to the conclusion that my dad had taken his set of keys, and then my mom had taken her purse, where the second set of keys were hiding. We were all stranded at the house with no way to get anywhere, and on top of that, my parents are the worst at answering their cell phones, so they were driving around in blissful ignorance while us children were scrambling to find a way to get around town. (Eventually they got a ride and it was all worked out.)
Fast forward to today, Sunday, as church is ending. My parents have to run a few more errands, so my dad gives me the keys to drive my siblings home (both of the cars are at church). My mom gives my brother her set of keys as well. I'm sitting in the car with two of the kids, kid number three comes out, puts the extra keys in the van, and gets into the white car with me. That's when I get a brilliant, evil, ingenious idea. (I'm sure you all know where this is going.) We retrieve the extra keys out of the van, and now with both sets in our possession, we position the car in a hideout location to wait for our parents to realize they are now stranded. Oh man, what a rush I felt! Such rebellion! My brother is hiding out in a friend's car to film the event, and my mom calls me as soon as they think we have left them keyless. After trying to open the van door, which is locked, they spot my brother failing at being sneaky, who then jumps out of the friend's car, dashes to mine, and we make a speedy getaway like in one of those movies where the bad guys are leaving the scene of the crime all cool like. The people in the parking lot were cheering and laughing as we flew through the air, tasting the sweet freedom that we rebels so deserved.
Oh sweet sweet revenge!
But then of course we turned back and returned the keys, and our parents thought it was the greatest thing ever. I mean, they deserved it, it was the perfect opportunity, they practically handed it to us on a silver platter. And as my brother would say, "Lauren, they did hand it to us ... they gave us both the keys!"
If that doesn't say happy mother's day, then I don't know what does.
Thus ends my rebel streak. No children were punished. And my parents had a good laugh.
shirt/shoes: target // cardigan/belt: thrifted
Happy Friday, all! These photos were supposed to get out yesterday, but I accidentally fell asleep at nine and let me tell you what, it was blissful. I never understood why my parents went to bed so early, but now I know why. Work is tiring! But it's a really good, satisfying sort of tiring. I love working for an actual small photography business, because not only am I doing something I love to help my boss, but I'm also doing things that will eventually help my own photography. I'm already thinking up ways to make a real print shop and website, as opposed to my current website and print site. They suit my needs now, considering I have zero current clients, so perhaps I'm jumping a little bit ahead of the game. But then again, if I made a print shop that was easier to navigate and purchase from, then maybe I would get more purchases, which in turn would pay for the website. I don't really know. But when do I ever know? At any rate, one thing I love about my boss is that he always says that we are just faking it. And as I get older, I think that's totally true. I always thought adults knew everything and had it all together, but the thing is, everyone is just struggling through life. No one really knows what they're doing, but that's okay. I suppose if we knew everything, then life wouldn't be such a big adventure.
Speaking of photography (I'm sorry I've been talking about it so much recently. I promise I won't say anything about it in my next next post! ... since my next post is about a photoshoot I did with my brother, haha.), I just posted a discount on my services on my facebook page. So if you live in the Anchorage area or will be around there at all during the summer and need to book a session, be sure to take advantage of this opportunity!
Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
screenshot used with permission
Recently thanks to my photography professor, I was featured in Bokeh Magazine, a photographer's magazine for the ipad, and I wanted to share with you my contribution to the article. I really loved the entire article that John wrote, so if you have a few spare dollars, I highly suggest you purchase the May 2nd issue and read it. The entire magazine has great articles from photographers, and if you're at all interested in photography, you should definitely check it out!
I'm not quite sure I ever officially announced this on the blog or not, but I have an official photography page. You can check it out here! Since starting my photography internship (I only just finished day number two ... another awesome day), I'm more inspired than ever to work on my business and make it the best that it can be! There are still a couple things I need to update about the site (like adding a couple features that have just occurred, adding my stock agency link, and I don't even know what else), but I've been busy with working on a magazine shoot recently (which is also why I don't have any outfit photos to share). I posted a little bit about it on instagram, so if this is redundant, I apologize. But my mom is writing an article for Clubhouse Jr. Magazine and the magazine needed photos of the event she was writing about. So boom bam Lauren is in a big time publication! I can't share the photos until the issue is out in November, and even then it's not guaranteed that they will publish the article, but regardless, that has what has been consuming my life.
In other news, I finally finished organizing my room and I'm fully moved in. I don't know how I managed to bring so much junk, but it is all in its place now. Cross your fingers that it will stay that way all summer! As for the internship, I've never had a real 9-5 job before, so it's a new feeling to go to work in the morning, eat on a lunch break, and hang out in the office all day. It almost feels like school, but I'm actually having fun. But it's weird, when I come home at the end of the day, I feel like a real adult coming home from work. Of course, that breaks down when my dad has to pick me up from work (since I don't have my own car). Okay, I feel like I'm about to start rambling right now. It's late anyways. This has been an update.
Have a great day everyone!
(p.s. I just reread this post, and man, it's obvious I am tired.)
shirt: target // cardigan: thrifted // dress: c/o sugarlips // boots: forever 21
Well I am back in Alaska! When I heard that there was still snow on the ground, I definitely was not excited to come home. After leaving Oregon's gorgeous weather, I didn't want to wake up to snowfall. Weeeell this is how it looked on Saturday (that was my outfit, but most of the photos turned out blurry because my camera kept focusing on the snowflakes instead of me), and while part of me always loves the snow and how beautiful and peaceful it is, I don't particularly like it in May. Yesterday and today have been better though. I can only hope the snow will be gone soon! It's weird though, when it's 45 degrees in Oregon, I'm so cold, but when it's 45 degrees in Anchorage, it feels nice. I don't know if it's because the air is drier, or because the sun is reflecting off the snow into my skin, but there's just something about it that is very different from the lower forty eight. Matt said the same thing. He was up this weekend just to visit, but he flew back to his school this afternoon to finish out the next three weeks.
Also today, I started my new (aka first) job! (Well, unpaid internship, but who cares about technicalities.) I'm working for a really awesome photographer alongside one of my photographer friends, and today was our first day in the studio. I'm incredibly excited for this opportunity to learn about the business of photography, study under him, and make invaluable contacts with his clients. I even get my own desk space which I get to personalize however I like ... so cheesy, but I've always wanted a work desk like those generic ones on tv shows. I'm also really excited for this job because it gives me something to do all day. I don't have many friends in Alaska, so my summers are for the most part really boring--sitting around the house, browsing the internet all day, sleeping a lot, it gets old after a while--but this will be a nice change. I love the idea of working all day doing something that I love to do, and then coming home and relaxing, or working on my own projects. Working at the studio really inspires me to work harder with my own business, and I'm already thinking up ideas to expand Lauren Parker Photography!
I hope you have a wonderful day!
dress: handmade // shirt: thrifted // tights: forever 21 // shoes: target
Just a super quick post for you today! I have one final left this Friday morning, and then I'll finish cleaning the dorm and doing last minute packing, and then tonight I'll be off for summer vacation! I'm really sad to leave all my friends for four months though. And the hot Oregon weather we've been having. And just the atmosphere of my town and Portland in general. But I'm also excited to go back to Alaska. I have some fun summer projects that I want to do, and I'm starting my photography internship on Monday. It's going to be a summer of experiences (I always love labeling different times in my life, so now this is going to be my motto for the whole summer. And because it now has that label, just you watch, there are going to be some absolutely insane experiences. And they will be awesome), and I cannot wait.
I can't believe I'm already done with freshman year of college. It seems like only yesterday I was heading off to class for the first time (I walked into the wrong room and everything), and now I'm finally done. So many memories, so many experiences, so many lessons learned. It hasn't quite hit me yet that the first year is over. From being so freaked out about such a big life change to who I am today, it's been a huge transformation, not only style-wise and academically, but socially, emotionally, spiritually, and rationally (ie. gained some maturity and responsibility). I dyed my hair for the first time, met some awesome photographers, got my first job working at the scene shop and newspaper, explored my beautiful state, took pictures of strangers, tried new classes, developed film photos for the very first time, had my first gallery show, started selling prints through a stock agency, had my work in the student art show, and won an award for my photography.
Who would have thought that I was going to do all those things my first year of college? If this is just the beginning, I can't wait to see what the next three years will hold. Needless to say, it's been an awesome first year.
