Ryan and Brad (bros)

Location: The Square in Murfreesboro

Here are some of the pictures from today’s shoot.

Brad

Ryan

Some people welcome life’s surprises better than others. Planning is a rare occasion for them. I like the idea of that. I like the idea of not always being in control because it’s not all that bad when I fail. When I was a Freshmen in high school I wanted to be an orthodontist. Then, from late Junior year to the rest of Senior year, I decided that I’m gonna go to school for Photography. Things changed and I joined the Navy. I think joining the Navy was my first adult decision I  have ever made because I was more aware of the reality of college tuition. I do not want to be stressed by student loans for the rest of my life. Anyway, I definitely plan on attending college while I am in the Navy. For a while, since I love teaching Sunday schools so much, I’ve thought about going to school to be a middle school teacher. At the same time, by watching a lot of shows like Grey’s Anatomy, I wanted to become a nurse. For some reason, I was sorta against the idea of going to school for Photography even though I love doing it so much.

Then, for a few weeks, I fell into the attitude of not caring. I felt like I should just focus on what I am doing right now rather than trying to plan my life out. I was just going to focus on being in the Navy and worry about what I am going to do with my life after when it actually happens. Basically, I just didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life anymore. I had no desire to be anything specific. I wanted to be everything. I can be a substitute teacher while working as a nurse somewhere. Then, I can teach on Sunday mornings at my church while doing some shoots every now and then for extra cash. No way. My life would be crazy. I’d cry every night. I’d be so unhappy.

So I grew out of that state of going with the flow because that doesn’t work for me. I am a thinker. I do believe that my whole life needs to be lifted up to God at all times. Being lifted up, to me, is allowing God to have His way of it. But I also think that I still need to make decisions. Sometimes God is not always clear with exactly what He wants me to do. He doesn’t paint me the whole picture. It’s kinda like a video game. I am given one mission at a time. If I complete that mission I will move on and receive my next mission. And if I fail or come up short to the objective then there will be consequences and hold backs. But I am always given chances to complete the mission to move on to another one. And not until I reach the end of the game will I know what the overall objective of the game was. Amber once said that sometimes you won’t really know if that was something God wants you to do until you do it. Therefore, that is why I believe that I still make decisions for myself even though God already has His plans for me.

With that being said, I needed to decide what I am going to school for while I am in the Navy. I want to do so many things, but I know that’s unrealistic. For the past two month or so I have been more active with my camera. I’ve taken a lot more pictures than ever. And I seriously can see myself doing that for a really long time. I definitely have a passion for it. It’s certainly a gift that God has given me. The lifestyle is more suited for me than being a teacher or a nurse. I love teaching kids on Sundays about Jesus, but I’m not sure if I like teaching kids any other day about any other subject. I like the idea of saving lives, but my heart is only about 25% certain about nursing. Teaching and Nursing are more stable professions than being a photographer. And that leads me to a list of fears that I have if I do go to school for Photography.

First of all, I fear that I’m not nor will I ever be good enough. My standards are real high when it comes to what makes a good photographer. They’re so high that I don’t think I’ll ever reach them myself. I have so much more to learn. Photography requires so much creativity all the time. It requires you to be better than your last shoot. It requires ambition. It requires a lot of love for it. What if one day I run out of creativity? What if my photos stop growing? What if I lose the passion for it? I’m just afraid that I don’t have the potentials to be good enough.

Also, the Photography field is so unstable. I’d have to really market for my business. I’d really have to be the best of the best in order to maintain a fixed client base. I know nothing about business. I feel bad for charging people money. I won’t be filthy rich nor be able to purchase pet tigers because the most expensive and luxurious things that a photographer own is his or her camera and camera equipments. That’s it.

But I have made my decision and I am going to go school for Photography while I am in the Navy. It has a lot of cons, but my love for it kinda overcome them all. So that is my decision and I’m going to lift it up to God. And I know that He will take care of me and He will provide for me.

And I am in love with Scrubs.

A Poem of Emily by Sang Nguyen

Once upon a time there was a princess named Emily.

She was pretty and she was neat.

She lived in a place that did not have fleas.

Her favorite food was cheese

and her favorite drink was tea.

Emily’s father was king.

He wants to give her everything.

The king went on thinking

“What does Emily need that she is missing?”

He then exclaimed, “Aha! I know just the thing!”

Emily was awakened by a bell.

Her servant had something to tell,

“Oh, Emily you are going to melt!”

“What do you mean, Noelle?”

The King has something for you at the well.

The king greeted them with a smile.

“What took you such a while?”

Emily became idle.

“Emily, this is Lyle.”

He is wealthy and never in denial.

Lyle is a billionaire.

He is charming and rare.

He is in want to share

his life with Emily in his lair.

Emily does not care.

She dragged her father aside.

“Oh, father I just can’t hide.

I do not want to be by his side.

Do not make me his bride

for I will cause a genocide.”

“Oh Emily you do not understand

that Lyle is in high demand.

He will be good for you, and

he will be good for our land.”,

The king exclaimed.

Because Emily loves her father

she decided what she wants does not matter.

She would indeed much rather

drink sewer water

than disappoint her father.

Emily fulfilled her father’s wish.

Lyle wants to have fish

as the main wedding dish.

Dessert would include creamy cheese danish

Emily just wanted to vanish.

So one night she planned to run away.

She just can’t bear to stay.

She disguised herself with hay.

She was able to get out of town in a day.

Then, she heard, “Hey!”

Turns out the king had found out.

He had been searching for her whereabout.

When he saw her he wanted to shout,

“What was that all about?”

But then he was in doubt.

Emily by then was in tears

She did not suspect that they were near.

“Oh father, it just felt weird

so I had to back up my gears.

He doesn’t even have ears!”

“Oh, Emily, you silly goose.

You had the right to choose.

I should not have been such a selfish moose.

I should have just bought you a pair of new shoes.

It is you who I do not want to lose.”

Emily’s father was sorry.

Lyle was no longer a part of their story.

Emily later fell in love with a shoemaker named Corey.

Their wedding was full of glory.

They lived happily ever and end of story.

In John 15: 1-17, Jesus said..

¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

⁹“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other.

Allow me the courage to bear fruits. Keep me in Your love and push me to love the people whom you’ve loved. This life is not mine, but Yours. My passions are not to benefit me, but to glorify You. I want to want to love You even through the hard times. You are on my side always. You have plans for my days. Your plans will not harm me, but they will prosper me instead. I will trust You to bring me peace, the only kind of peace that will satisfy. I rejoice in my suffering times because those are when I feel You closest to me. You find us not in our glorious days, but in our most vulnerable state. That is where You have always found me. That is where You have always came when I called on Your name. Your love has saved me from my own selfishness and a lifetime of meaningless breaths. Your blood has claimed me as Yours and Yours only. I am the daughter of the King of all kings. I lift my life to You. Everything that I do is now everything that You call me to do. I am another component to Your story and I am so okay with that. I love You, Lord. Thank you for choosing me.

bending & Samoa Adoption Scandal

Niki experienced with a few shots of me. We both thought they’re pretty cool and strange.