Being Me.

I decided to change the title of this blog from 'The Year to 40' to 'Kirsten Young' (in Photographs and Words).  This year has become less about turning 40 and more about being me. I look at those words, 'being me', wrapping my head around what I mean, what that means.  To be me.

Browsing through Pinterest late June 5th, looking for the exact right Happy 40th Birthday quote for my bestie, I ran across this...

Right now, on the eve of 40, it's falling into place.  What once was a wide, multi-laned freeway of endless possibilities has now turned into a lovely and narrow dirt path of me.  The chaos and distraction has subsided into a pleasant and personal journey to betterment.  I've narrowed it down and am happy with my choices.

Gardening has always, and will always be huge for me, but this new thing (that isn't new at all and, in retrospect, has been with me all along waiting for me to take hold) has gotten me all fired up.  I think back to highschool, to smoking pot between classes and hiding in the darkroom.  I think about hating everything but those hours of creativity, the weight of my clunky old K1000 in my hand, my eye pressed to the viewfinder, focusing my 50mm.  Had I been encouraged to pursue that with the intensity that I didn't realize I wanted to, would things be different now?  How would my path have changed?  But, like I said in my last post "Everything in it's own time."  And here I am.

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that read "These ARE the good old days." My two Grandmas sitting in their 93 year old bodies thinking back.  I feel so grateful that I made it, to here, to the good old days.   

To being me.