Progression

I am in constant movement along a time line. As a butterfly progresses through its life cycle, it takes on many physical forms to represent its current situation. Humans go through a similar cycle of physical growth. Humans also develop unique psyches throughout their physical changes. Though nature dictates much of the life cycle, humans have free will, allowing them to progress into unique, creative creatures. The choices available are infinite, though not always feasible. Fate may light the path but she does not know where it goes.

I do not fully believe in the idea of making oneself “better”. Life is about changing and experiencing. These define who and what you are. These do not make you “better” or “worse” than any other human being.

This is a representation of my movement upwards. Being an ever-changing entity, tracking who I am at a particular moment seems futile. However, much like a photograph, a moment can be captured and explained. The staircase leads where I am currently walking, holding the dynamics of my current personality in words and photographs.

People spend the majority of their lives working. Due to the amount of time working, many people tend to turn their work into their entire existence. Working long hours, for average pay and sacrificing living their lives as they wish. While the other extreme, treat their job as just another check in order to pay the bills and in general treat their position as a prison term. In my short time, I have looked at my job experiences in both lights and found that they are both incorrect for who I am.

For me, my experiences have made my career. Generally, a career is typically defined as a permanent progressive professional position. Some try to embody this meaning into standardized positions with set boundaries, much in the same fashion that high-school counselors attempt to herd student's talents into job manuals. However, the older I become, the more I see people changing and progressing out of narrow-minded fields into grander pastures, that allow the pursuit of original dreams and goals. These are the people that inspire me to live my own personal dreams, no matter how absurd they seem. People that change jobs dramatically, suddenly decide to go back to school or seem to have a touch of every trade in their blood. They have inspired me to make living as I desire my career.

During my pursuit of self-discovery, I uncovered something wonderful. With my clumsy movements and child-like hands, I could break glass. Of course nearly everyone is capable of destroying a set of glasses. But being able to fracture a piece of glass and turn it into art takes more than a destructive hand.

I am no artist. My portfolio consists of doodles in notebooks and ceramic vases. I always enjoyed working with my hands. Plaster and clay came naturally to me. I could easily wield both materials to create objects that were functional and average. But nothing truly original or grand ever came into existence through either medium. On a whim, I noticed a stained glass course and opted to give it a try. Strangely enough, I naturally broke glass with consistent lines and soldered evenly. After the success of my first piece, I let my imagination run free and have been creating beautiful original works.

Moving forward into unknown territory. Seattle is somewhere I always wanted to go. The artistic culture, the science and technology driven atmosphere, a great university, and of course, the ocean. I feel as if my wandering in the desert is over and I can finally enjoy my surroundings again.

The sky is a vast blanket of gray, white, and occasional blue. The surrounding mountains hide themselves in a mysterious shroud of clouds only to suddenly emerge like giants. The sound is calm and comforting and gives me peace in knowing that more exciting waters are within reach. The people are friendly, driven and unique. A new beautiful experience and somewhere I can call home for awhile.

Hot, arid, and void. Large cactus covered mountains loom over the city and the sun shines every day. Living in Arizona, is like living on Mars. The time change, the climate, the people, even the language conveys an otherworldly feel. I know that Arizona has a tendency to run in people's blood. That so many feel at peace here. I can understand that emotion. I know that this is not my home, but a great experience to possess.

All my life, I spent most of my time living about the mid-Atlantic and New England lands. Cold winters and mild summers. Lakes, rivers, streams and the great Atlantic. Forests, deer, and crammed highways. That all changed in the desert. The rivers drawn on maps are actually wide washes that fill during thunderstorms only. Highways stretch out to no where, with no gas stations, people or wildlife. Just you and the open road. Deer are replaced with host of strange creatures. Javelinas in the trash cans, lizards and geckos on the porch and rattlesnakes under the stairs. There are no seasons here. Despite all the strangeness, Arizona has been an adventure.