Kirsten Captures

I never thought I’d be one of “those bloggers”. You know, the blogger who follows the trends, who posts “vlogs”, who is inspired by recipes and products featured in other blogs, who belongs to an wonderful community of people joined together in a virtual world.

But here I am. And I LOVE it. I love the support from people who care about what you post and what you have to say. And I love giving out support to others that I read about almost daily. Why? Because I care!  I believe everybody deserves to be heard and find people with similar interests which is what the blogging community is all about.

Today I come to you as a blogger. Kirsten “captures” according to her title. But what exactly does that mean?

When I started this blog for a digital photography class in college, I named my blog “capture.” Lower case letters with a period at the end. This was crucial. That little punctuation at the end of an overused photography term, title, phrase, or whatnot was crucial. It said, “I am a blogger, I am unconventional and creative. I am a starving artist.”

Except I don’t really consider myself an artist. Or even close to starving. Actually, most of the time you can find me eating (allow me to pause while I devour my mid-morning apple).

But this is besides the point.

Once I began blogging my class assignments, I started to find my voice in writing. I began to look forward to my bi-weekly posts and would spend HOURS creating content, developing arguments, editing photographs, and designing each post down to the very last detail. It became my happy place of self-expression.

When I studied abroad, I took my blog oversees to share my experiences with my family and friends back home. Having a place to post my photography and dwell upon my experiences through writing helped me combat loneliness and find the greater purpose of my travels. I fell in love with traveling and now have amazing posts to look back on and remember my experiences vividly.

Back in school, I submitted this blog to another photography class where I saw my project develop, grow, and change. I think at the end I finally found my photographic voice and understand what captures my eye and imagination.

Since graduation, I have moved into the real world and have struggled to follow my passions and dreams. I think most college graduates are in the same situation. The job situation is bleak and there are not many opportunities out there in what may be your “dream job”. I’m not even sure what my dream job is. All I know is that relationships and networking are SO IMPORTANT. It is why I am where I am today.

I asked myself: “If money was not an issue and you could do anything you wanted, what would it be?”

Tricky right? Because money IS an issue. Money is the basis of our economy. After several mistakes, I realized that money gives us the opportunity to experience, to live, to let us do what we love, to be independent, to love another person. Yes these things may exist without money, but they can challenge happiness.

My dream job? To travel the world, photographing, eating, and writing about my experiences along the way. (If you know somebody in this field let me know, let’s network!)

What have I learned about love? That you may love another person with your entire being, but the relationship can fail due to circumstance. And that is the most frustrating realization of all. In the year and a half since I graduated college, I have lived, made mistakes, failed, and succeeded but, ultimately, I have learned (and cried, a lot). I have learned so much about myself, about what I need, what holds me back, what pushes me forward, who my real friends are, and that I am resilient. Because unlike others, I can change.

So what is “Kirsten Captures” about? This blog is about me capturing life. It is about me capturing my dreams and striving towards my goals. It is about me capturing love. It about me capturing what I see everyday through words and photographs. This blog is about the beauty, ugliness, and perseverance of my daily life. Oh, and there is humor. Lots of humor. I have survived because I have learned to laugh at myself and not take things too seriously.

Finally, “Kirsten Captures” documents my journey into the world of personal training. In trying to find my happiness, I realized my happy place is the gym. It is exercise. It is pushing my body to its limits and helping it to grow and change. I have struggled with body image and destructive habits in the past and working out truly saved me. Learning to love myself is the best change I have made so far in my life.

So I am learning how to help others change their bodies and love themselves. Also personal training is a mobile field that I can take anywhere while traveling, eating, photographing, and writing. This is my dream.