“The Time Has Come to Say Goodbye Although I am With You in Mind and Spirit:” Poem

“The time has come to say goodbye,

 To spread my wings and fly. 

 

As you lie beside my grave,

Do not cry as I am with you every day.

 

What remains left of me lies underground,

But my spirit knows no bounds. 

 

I am always around to see you smile.

To hold you, my dear ones, when you cry.

 

God Bless you all, my loved ones, as I am always nearby.

My body has returned to ash as I was once before my arrival on Earth. 

 

My spirit is now in the presence of the Lord.

Where I have been welcomed back in the loving arms of Jesus and my loved ones before me.

 

It was time for me to say goodbye,

To spread my wings and fly.

 

As we are apart right now,

I am always near you in spirit and mind

Until you arrive and we will be together once more.”

Staying Active and Capturing Memories of Family Through Photography:

 

For two months, I have been going outdoors with my family by partaking in outdoor activities together such as swimming and walks at the park.

From there, I pull out my camera and take pictures of my husband son to capture memories of us together and appreciate God’s beautiful nature all around us. From where we live to the parks we travel to, we always find memorable moments to share with each other on our adventures together.

Staying active and capturing memories of family together help me mentally, physically and spiritually, life wise and to improve my hobbies furthermore. Going out to walk and taking pictures of family and flowers help me grow as a wife, mother and as a person in general who loves to bond with family.

Photos of TN in the Summer: Sun and Rain-Life on Earth is Temporary and Heaven is Eternal

The weather between rain and sun this summer in TN has been back and forth like a pendulum. Between the constant back and forth of sun and storms, it has been endless and humid to the point of wishing it was fall already.

Despite the sun and rain, we need them to bloom beautiful flowers from which are beauties to behold in our eyes and lives. Flowers die before the winter season, but they live once more as summer circles back around as do the leaves on trees and fresh green grass on the ground.

To me, this signifies the beauty of life from human life to plants. Life goes on, time flashes before our very own eyes and before we know it, we are a part of history on Earth. Life for us on Earth is temporary but in Heaven, it is eternal with no pain, no sadness. Just pure happiness!

Where My Inspiration for Photography Came From:

My passion for photography came from my late maternal grandmother, Nana Billie. She shaped me into who I became today as we spent nights and days together in high school selling business ads and create photo collages together. 

During my college years, she would request me to print off photos at a certain length, ensure the lighting of the picture was none other than clear and picture-perfect and pick them up at Walgreens after work. 

As a child, I used to sneak into her photo albums and become fascinated with the people in the pictures, who they were and what the special occasion was in the photo and why it meant so much for her to keep and place into the photo album. 

Nana loved her family deeply and made sure she had memories of them as a newborn until the time they grew older, had families of their own and keep the tradition going from one generation to the next. She was the matriarch who kept the family together and knew her role as a wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. 

Before she passed away, I showed her pictures of what she would like to include in the slideshow, and she pointed out to me that she loved a photo of her with either my grandfather or my brother. I promised her that it would be going in there and it did.  

I made her slideshow a month or two before her passing as we all knew her time was limited. My husband, son and I would come over there and talk to her, show her pictures of nature, family and talk about the trees she planted over the years. Her celebration of life was beautiful despite the weather raining non-stop from the time we arrived at the funeral home until we left. 

Life is precious and so are the memories we share with each other and those we are closest to. Nana shared many life stories and photos with me that I am going to keep the tradition alive and well in her honor.

Thank you, Nana for inspiring me to become my own photographer and continue the tradition of keeping memories alive from one generation to the next. Thank you, Nana, for the love, laughter and memories we shared together throughout the years. May you rest in peace with your mom and sisters who loved you dearly. We will see each other once more at Heaven’s Pearly Gate. 

 

 

FALL, WINTER AND SPRING PHOTOGRAPHY: 2024-2025

Shutterstock Images: Uploading and What You Will See with Approval/Rejection

One month ago, I decided to take expand upon my photography hobby and upload to Shutterstock images as a means of getting my photography portfolio on display. It took a few times to have pictures re-edited, re-submitted before they were approved by Shutterstock and here is what I have learned so far on here:

1. Know your Subjects and Categories-use key words to create a story from within. Know what you are publishing to share with the world and how it could be used to expand your photography portfolio.
2. Know what you are worth-if you aren’t getting paid yet, no need to panic. It will take a while and sometimes your best work will be noticed when you least expect it. It’s a process and takes time before getting recognized. Just stick with it, stay positive and you will do just fine.

Everything is digital now, especially photography. People are out there searching for the best landscape photo to order and frame onto their kitchen walls. Shutterstock is one way to start your photography career as well as other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Hashtags on Instagram will give you lots of followers, commenters who are into the same subjects as you are.

 

Ways I Improved Editing Photography:

For 10 years, I started my own photography page on Facebook to be inspired and surround myself with God’s beautiful creation.

In high school, I was on the yearbook staff where I snapped photography, edit photos on Adobe Photoshop and upload to the assigned page with kickers and captions with students who did not have their pictures taken by a professional photographer.

For over 15 years, here is what I have learned:

1. You can use any tool and make your photos be as magnificent as the ones in the magazine.
2. You would need to train yourself and dab around a bit to ensure the picture is not too bright, not too dark. Rather, have the photos be neutral with a colorful hue touch to enhance the fascination of a beautiful photo and create a story from within.
3. Took a photography course where I could differentiate what a professional camera captures and what smartphones capture. Both are as equally important in the photography industry, just in different ways as well as different editing programs where you can do more/less with the photos.

It is never too late to start your own photography journey in the world of social media. Use it for the greater good and let your work speak for itself. You can be as creative as you need to be whereas professional studios are limited on their subjects and what they can do.  On the adventure, you will discover some editing tools are better than others and others that you cannot rely on as you will have different light settings, different subjects and different poses.

 

Be Your Own Individual: Succeed On Your Own When Others Cut Contact

Recently, there have been a few relatives who have removed me from social media and it is unclear as to why/what I have done and how to move forward from those who want little to no interaction with me at all.

Here is my perspective on what could be happening:

Family dynamics change as well as the cousins who you were once close with as you all grow older and have different goals in life. Some get married and pop out multiple children each year while others find hobbies to become successful in their careers in life. We all take a different path in life and that is okay.

The sad life about growing older is that you will realize that those who you were once close with as a child will change as an adult as you all adventure out into different paths in life and some may block you on social media for reasons that you may or may not have done and it could be the other person who is having the issue, themselves.

Nonetheless, it’s sad when you want to connect with a cousin or uncle who you cared about until they block you and find no way of being able to connect with them anymore. That is the meaning of life that happens without explanation and all we can do is move forward with grace, understanding and pray for those who no longer want to reach out/connect with us as family members.

Pray about it, succeed with your own life ambitions and move forward even when you think about that loved one from time to time. Life is too short to dwell on those who don’t consider us family any longer. Just keep on striving, praying and you will do well in life. Instill these lessons with your children too if they have cousins, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents.

Christmas Lights Photography:

After attending my in-law’s Christmas gathering, my husband and I along with our 4 year old son went to the closest neighborhood on our way home to take pictures of Christmas Lights beaming with holiday spirit. Once we found the house with the most Christmas lights, we saw Santa, the Grinch, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Santa’s Post Office Mail Box, etc. Our son loved it so much that we went around the neighborhood soaking in the Christmas spirit until it was time to go home and sleep off the delicious dinner we had for the night.

Building Connections Through Social Media Platforms:

Today’s topic is how to build connections with coworkers, family and friends through social media platforms.

When I first started working in the retail industry, I struggled communicating with my coworkers and jumped on the gossip train wagon with others which did not help me build connections in the job world.

After I left my first job out of college in 2022, my mindset changed where I no longer wanted to be on the gossip train and work together with everyone. I helped others when needed and did not hesitate to offer advice, provide notes and work together as a team. There is no “i” in team. It is “we” and we all worked together to ensure we met our scheduling appointments per day.

All it takes is to learn and grow with wisdom. Educate yourself and educate with others as a bonding experience. Make a very good impression and stick with that impression. Understand everyone will have bad days and will not be personal if taken out on you.