For those of you who have been wondering what’s going on with my life since I abandoned this blog in 2012, below is a brief list, in no particular order, of the various changes I’ve experienced in the last few years.
For those of you who have lost interest in my life since 2012, why are you here?
1. I am inspired.
I’ve recently become connected with a huge network of devoted women writers. These writers are insanely talented and immensely supportive of each other. This network has introduced me to countless stunning pieces of work that fill my heart daily as I read them. It has provided me a safe place to ask my questions about writing, editing, freelance work and more and get prompt expert responses from women who have been where I am.
Most importantly, surrounding myself with smart ladies and their writings has inspired me to strive for a level of professionalism, motivation and enthusiasm for both writing and photography that I couldn’t have otherwise imagined.
And I’ve made new friends! That’s always a bonus.
With these ladies’ support, I’ve decided to delve into the realm of brief, topical personal essays. I had one brief stab at it in February 2014, when I revealed to the world my less-than-secret love of death metal. While that one was fun, I have so much room to improve. I’ve got more stories to tell, and I’ve got my eye on a few outlets where I’d love to contribute. So, I’m reading more engaging authors and honing my storytelling skills.
I’m making a photography comeback as well. No, not weddings. I’ve decided to continue a series I began in college called Through the Windowpane. You can read the artist statement at the link, but in brief I’ve taken slide photos that my father took of our family before I was born and projected them in various parts of a home, inducing sometimes haunting scenes. Parts of the piece were published in plain china, a literary magazine, in 2011. It has been one of my favorite series, and I could see it morphing into its own book someday.
I have finally procured my own semi-portable projector, so I can now take the show on the road – so to speak – and shoot in almost any location. I’m even seeking out other families’ slides, and scouting antique shops for strangers’ discarded, old slide photographs. I am unspeakably excited about this project!
Here’s a slideshow of my past Through the Windowpane photos.
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2. I’m more in love with Sweden now than ever.
My husband [Side update: oh, right, I got married in May 2013.] and I visited Gothenburg again in August 2014, this time also with my father. It was his first time meeting his Swedish family and seeing his motherland. I believe it was as transformative for him as it has been for me, although he’s not hellbent on moving there the way I am. Perhaps it’s my mid-twenties naiveté.
On this trip we saw as much and more — the bustling city of Gothenburg during kulturkalaset (cultural festival), the beaches of Lake Vänern, the forests, the aquaducts, our first real-live castle called Läckö Slott, rainy Borås, Oslo city, and other sights too lovely and fleeting to embed themselves in my fragile memory. We spent lots of time with our family, which was priceless. Joe (husband) and I decided, definitively this time, that we’re moving to Gothenburg. It’s only a matter of treacherous, crawling, arduous time.
Here’s a slideshow of our many escapades.
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3. I’ve become obsessed with Westeros.
I’ve read the five main-series books; debated the HBO adaptation with frienemies who dare to say that Danaerys is a stronger feminist than Arya; delved into the new A World of Ice and Fire history epic; and even bickered with my husband over the Risk-esque board game. (If the Targaryens were a playable house, I could just fly dragons to non-adjacent areas and burn all your supply tokens. So there.)
This probably shouldn’t even be on this list, but I swear it’s important. George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series has inspired me to be a reader again. It has been much too long since I have immersed myself in a fictional world so deeply that I can escape when I need a break from the toils of life. Not since Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings have I declared myself an expert in characters and worlds of little to no real-world consequence.
I credit the series with re-introducing me to the beauty of fiction. I had entirely written off the genre as not-for-me. So, indirectly, without A Song of Ice and Fire, I wouldn’t have been so quickly introduced to Swedish-Finnish writer Tove Jansson’s brilliance in “Fair Play,” which is easily the most touching book I read in 2014.
In related news, I also briefly reacquainted myself with popular Young Adult fiction, devouring both The Hunger Games and Divergent series, and also sweeping up “The Fault in Our Stars” just for fun. It was a nice little fling, but I think I’m done with YA for a few more decades.
A friend bought me some delicious poetry books for Christmas, and I consumed Tytti Heikkinen’s “The Warmth of the Taxidermied Animal” and Patricia Lockwood’s “Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals” with great glee.
Those are the major life-updates for now, although there’s much more spinning around in my headspace.
Stay tuned, for in the coming days I’ll grace the Internet with a thousand thoughts about debt and goals. You’ll love it.
In this week’s “Podcastamere,” we take a look at the third episode of “Game of Thrones” season 5, and between Sansa, Margery and Jon, we have A LOT of great developments to talk about.
The Photographer-Journalist 