During the summer, I went on a missions trip to Miami for three days. The first day we were doing actual missions work (which was helping sort through a thrift shop), we got up at around 5 in the morning to go to the beach and pray. It was still dark when we got there, and I remember feeling such peace before going out and seeing the poverty of the city. It made me feel really good, helping people who needed it without anything in exchange.

Our second day, we went to a neighborhood where there were a lot of kids, and our job was to play with the kids. After that day, I remember feeling such a sense of satisfaction and happiness, even though I was stuck with the rest of the sweaty kids in a crowded bus. It made me think.

I realized after that missions trip how lucky we are as Americans. The poverty in Miami can be enough to make someone tear up; but if you imagine the rest of the world, which is ten times worse. That mission trip definitely made me see the world through different eyes, and realize how lucky I have it, even though sometimes I don't feel like it. It made me more globally aware of what everyone else is going through, as well as little things I can do to help out not just in our community but everywhere else as well.

On bad days like these, it's important to remember things like this exist. Honestly, how cool are water droplets? They're so pretty. 

Even in the midst of storms, there is beauty. The storms itself can be beautiful. Like this. I think this is gorgeous - it makes my day to see things like these, and to be able to get good shots, especially when I'm not having the greatest days.

I met this little guy in my room. I caught him and took him outside, and he didn't wanna leave me, which honestly was really cute. 

Sometimes the highlights of my days are little things like this. Which brings me back to the root of this blog - recovery, and reminding myself of the little things in life. 

Rain really does make for some good pictures. 

Most people find the rain depressing, and it is. But it's also beautiful. I like the rain. It's comforting to me. 

There's a quote that says that you can't have a rainbow without the rain, and that's true. There is a beauty in suffering, because at the end it's totally worth it. 

And I think I'm coming to the end of a battle I've been facing for almost a year. I can almost see that rainbow now. 

This is why photography is important to me. 

Yesterday was not a good day. So I went to this little abandoned parking lot and took a bunch of pictures. That alone calmed me down. I love the art of taking pictures, and the action of it, and being able to find cool things to get good shots of. Today, those same photos cheered me up. Today is not a good day either. While I was looking back at all the pictures I got yesterday, and editing them, it made me happy seeing all the good shots I got. 

Not only is it good to calm me down, but it's good to express my emotions. It's the only way I can sufficiently show them, and even if no one sees them, it's nice to be able to put my emotions into something I can see and feel. And it's nice when people understand them too. 

This picture, for me, shows someone looking through dark branches to see a beautiful sky. Through the darkness to see the light. It gives me hope for the trials I'm facing, and reminds me to see the good things in my life, even if I do have those dark branches shattering it. It reminds me that it's there at all. And I can look through the dark branches to see the lights. 

I was at a fundraiser for cancer awareness, and there was one board with this caption. There was a paint canvas with tree branches, and finger print ink in green. What you do is put your fingerprint on the tree, like a leaf, and put a name to that lea of someone who died of cancer. 

Obviously, this really resonated with me. 

And of all the things that cancer can do, this is a list of things that it cannot do, which is a lot more than people think. Cancer is a leech, but it's possible to get past. And this is one of my favorites, since I've experienced cancer many times through many people. 

There is hope, even through sickness. It calmed me to see this, especially with the hope that whoever lost a battle for life, they're in a better place. 

I always talk about how nature is beautiful; but so are many man-made things. This is a crumbling sidewalk I found at one of my favorite parks. I feel like no one appreciates it, and I thought it was really cool. 

It's simple man-made things like this that I really love. It blows my mind how simple yet pretty things like this can be, and how people can create things like this.