PROJECT 52!!! "Now here's the Kicker . . . "

There was alot of self-imposed pressure to end Project 52 with a bang - so much so that I began to get nervous and the expectations built up in my head and there was almost no way to reach them! So to counter that,  I needed something with quite a kick to it, and consequently, that's exactly what inspired me for this final project -  that's the kicker, hahaha!

Allow me to introduce to you my good friend Kendall, my soon-to-be-business-partner and a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo.  Kendall has a dream. Her dream is to open a Taekwondo martial arts school in our town, and teach students of all ages this wonderful combination of self-defense, a respect fo self and others, and just boost others' self confidence in general. Children and adults of all ages are welcome - specialized self-defense classes for women, and also for seniors, are also in the works. This girl is one of the most motivated, hard-working, inspirational people I know! My heart is just so proud of this girl for going after her dream, I am so incredibly happy to be able to see that dream come into existence! To watch as she teaches her students not just practical life-skills like self-discipline, but of all the lives that will be nurtured and challenged and forever changed under her instruction and guidance.  You only have to meet this lady once for her passionate excitement for this sport to rub off on you, her enthusiasm is contagious and her bright smile makes you feel right at home!


So Project 52 is wrapped up, and new projects for this new year are unfolding in the form of a new business venture  - yes I am Kendall's business partner in the opening of this Taekwondo school. I am just so excited for this new project, so very happy for my friend and what she will accomplish this next year and so very honored to be a part of it in any way I can be of help to her in this.!

There will be new photo posts in the new year in a differemt style than this year's "Project 52" format.  For one thing, I am going to be starting school in February ( via distance education online) to get my diploma in Psychology and Counselling, so that will take up alot of my time, therefore I wont be able to put a time frame on projects like I did this past year. Alot of good that did me anyway, hahaha!  No, this year I will be doing random photo challenges with my dear friend and beloved mentor Barb ( the sweet soul I introduced not long ago who makes those lovely cards). She and I talked about agreeing on a specific subject to photograph, and then the two of us would post our finished image on our two blogs, with a link to the each others blogs, so that people can compare images. I'm calling these new occasional posts " Challenge Accepted" photo posts,  and I'm excited to see the different ways the same subject can be captured, its one of the things I love about photograph the most. I love how millions of people can take a picture of the same subject  -say, for instance, the Eiffel Tower - and every single photo will look different, because every photographer has a unique way in which we express the world as we see it.  I hope through these Challenge Accepted posts you all see how many different ways there are to see the beauty and uniqueness in everything around us, and I really hope it will encourage your to grab your camera ( even if it;s your cell phone camera! haha) and take your own photos of the challenge subjects!

I want to thank everyone who has read my blog posts over the past year ( yes all 3 or 4 of you, hahaha!) and  for being so faithful to comment on my project posts and for your kind words and encouragement. This past year has been at times challenging and honestly quite difficult, personally speaking, and I  know I didn't have alot of my projects done for you all in the time frames I would have liked to. You've all seen alot of the time stamps on my posts reading 2 and 3 a.m., hahaha!  But hey, another year is behind me with alot of lessons learned along the way, so I have alot to be thankful for even just in that itself. Im also thankful to my family and friends for all of their love and patience and understanding this past year, and for their continued love and support heading into this new year. This new year has already started out radically different from any other year already ( more on that later) and I already know this next year is going to be a really great one - full of all sorts of challenges, opportunities, and awesome surprises!  BRING IT ON!

Fancy flying kicks in the air,
-J