My brothers. And the desert. And my camera.
The Desert. When I first moved to Arizona I got a little depressed. Not just because I moved away from family (don't worry, family, I love and miss you), but mainly because I didn't think it was aesthetically pleasing. I laugh just typing that out. I was literally sad because I had moved to a place the my eyes didn't like. It also seems extremely ungrateful. There were so many wonderful reasons for why I was moving to Arizona and I couldn't get around my disgust for dirt, rocks and skimpy trees. It probably didn't help that I moved from the eastern benches of the Salt Lake valley. It was there that I was surrounded by lush trees and abundantly colorful flowers. There were rivers and streams and beautiful, shaded, hiking trails within a 10 minute drive. The summers were full of outdoor barbecues and popsicles and the falls consisted of colorful trees, crisp air, and wonderful smells (I love the smell of dead leaves). Then there was winter, which wasn't always fun, but if you glanced up at Mount Olympus after a snow storm you'd be in awe of the majestic beauty. But then, after a couple of months, the tulips would pop up and blossoms would start exploding all over the resurrecting trees. Grass would become green again and going outside become a wonderful treat to a starved body.
Arizona wasn't really any of that. We moved here in the middle of summer. Have you ever heard of what summers are like here? They are 3 things: hot, hot and HOT. The day we moved in it was 99 degrees and that was a good day. I had to grow to like and live with sweat and sleeping on top of covers instead of underneath. After a couple months of living here, monsoon season hit. And I was loving it. The drenching rain was so cleansing to my negativity. And the sunsets. THE SUNSETS. They were sunshine to my soul. The weather also started to cool and now my Utah friends were jealous of me. I was slowly starting to gain appreciation for where I lived. This was also around the time my love for photography started to bloom. I was discovering, through my camera lens, that I was surrounded my beauty. It was just a different kind of beauty. A new beauty. I was loving what I was seeing, and to this day I will squeal with delight when I pull my images up on my computer and notice that I captured the beauty of this desert. This barren desert of beauty.
My Brothers. Who doesn't love brothers? Growing up they were annoying pests who wouldn't stop asking questions and stay out of my room. They have since blossomed into some of the only people in my life that understand my humor and immaturity. I don't know what I would do without someone to drive down a crowded street in the middle of the day and roll down the windows to scream Taylor Swifts most recent hit with. My husband does not jive with that. In fact, if I did that with my husband in the car, he would immediately remove himself from the vehicle and claim to never have known me. I say this from experience. With my Ben, I will never be left alone stalking celebrities or shopping. With my Josh, I will also never go laugh-less; his imitations are perfection. Seriously though, perfection. So thank goodness for brothers. They bring out the best in me. And my the best I mean, the 16 year old. I am not ashamed.
The Camera. This one is obvious.
So what happens when I combine these 3 things? Perfection. That's what. See for yourself.
Love you bros. Now let me go finish setting up your Tinder accounts using these pictures. MWAH!
