Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't. -Margaret Thatcher

USAFA {a haven. a get away.}

okay. to several of my friends USAFA is not a get away or a serene place, but for me it is (usually) relaxing and a wonderfully peaceful place. it's beautiful. it has so much history and tradition. it is one of the most amazing places in the world. i can't express how much i love it there.

The statue of General Risner. It's one of my favorite memorials at the Academy. He has an amazing story. He was an amazing person. A hero in American history. A legend. (yes. I love him.)

A scale model of USAFA in McDermott Library.

This sign made me laugh so hard. It sums up the Academy so well.

The LONG flight of stairs leading up to the special collections. 

 

 

 

 

a replica of the Gutenberg Bible 

Books! I love the smell of libraries!

an amazing mural in Fairchild Hall

Snowy day on base

Memorial at the overlook for General Spaatz

the North Gate

Diamond Lil!

outside of Mitchell Hall. The world's largest dinning facility

Oh yes! It was Navy week!

F-4 Phantom (the one plane I can recognize!) reminds me of NBB and my awesome NBB family.

the stunning chapel.

I love the stained glass

the organ. we got to hear it play that morning. it's spine tingling beautiful.

these are just a couple of my favorite things from the Academy. it's a wonderful place.

photography [an emotional release]

i love taking pictures. it's a way for me to attempt to capture the beauty i see so that i can share it with others. it's quiet. relaxing. soothing. it is one form of art i'm fairly decent at. colorado is an amazing place to live and has so many beautiful things to photograph. i haven't blogged in quiet a while, so here is a random hodge-podge of pictures.

this tree at Garden of the Gods was amazing

Random rock formation at Garden of the Gods

An AMAZING Colorado moon

the pink of the sunset on a perfect Colorado night

the iconic Kissing Camels

dirt :)

 Garden of the Gods is a beautiful place to take pictures and spend time in. (just don't wear dress shoes like I did....)

Falling in Love...again.

Today I fell in love with something I had almost totally forgotten about. Photography. We went to the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver and getting to wander around, blissfully free, the only thing to think about was what to capture next. I'm still learning how to use my lens to capture what I see or the feelings things bring. But I was pretty happy with the results from today. 

Our God is so creative! His creation is stunning. 

school time [it's back]

school! it's back! all the homework, pressure, learning and just fun. (yes, i did just say that.) i love school. generally speaking. i have some really cool classes this semester. ASL, who knew learning a language could be so much fun?! i've been dreading taking my language credits, but my BRILLIANT best friend (not that i'm biased or anything...) suggested trying ASL (not to be confused with ALS, but that's another talk for another time...). it's a blast! another surprise this semester, is Stats. i can't believe i'm saying this but, i'm enjoying it! graphs are making sense. widths and limits, got those down. yep. it's kinda fun. then there is Micro....**cough** umm. yea. it's making me nervous. the first test is on 6 chapters. the text review guide, basically wants you to know everything from all the chapters... we shall see. all i can say is, bring it on! it's gonna be a good semester! :)

(adversity and confrontation)

adversity and confrontation. two things i dread and hate. and that's putting it mildly. even now as i type, i can feel my blood pressure rising. i have been learning a lot about both of things recently. adversity, it's something we run into almost everyday, in small amounts. confrontation, it's something that i avoid at all costs (sometimes causing more damage than good). yes, confrontation isn't ALWAYS a good thing, but for me it's something i need to do more often, usually. i have learned a lot about the people around me and a lot about myself in the last couple weeks. i have an amazingly supportive family. an amazingly supportive adopted family. an awesome best friend who lets me call her just so i can cry. a very patient sister who puts up and listens to all my ranting. a great friend who will talk at all hours of the night to help me brainstorm and give advice. the last couple weeks have indeed been hard, but i have learned so much and have started realizing how blessed i truly am.  and i have learned that i can stand up and voice my opinion even when it's hard and almost, almost impossible. but it is so worth it. as one of the amazing people in my life tells me almost every time i talk to them, "stay strong" ....it is indeed worth it.

{decisions}

Decisions. It's a part of life that everyone must deal with at some point. I have made good decisions and I have made bad ones. They are something that you must live with for the rest of your life, good or bad. I have to live with the decisions I have made. Whether they were good or bad. Some of the consequences are amazing, I have had chances and opportunities that I could never imagined. Other consequences have not been good and I have to live with the emotional scars that they have caused everyday. Part of it is learning to accept God's forgiveness and moving on with my life. It's not letting those mistakes define me or the rest of my life, but not totally forgetting them in order to avoid the same pitfalls. Decisions are definitely an important part of life, that direct a persons life. They are life changing. Even the small ones, because they end up turning into large decisions. Think carefully before you take that nextstep. :)