Clothing Swap + Drive Fall 2017

Long story short- bring clothes you want to donate, take home anything you want from the swap (last time we had THREE HUNDRED gals come aka A LOT OF CLOTHES), the rest get donated to the Women's Shelter in SLO, it is a win, win, win.

p.s. We need hangers + clothing racks + help setting up day before & day of! Please email  me if you can provide anythanggg (we will return hangers + clothing racks of course!) (And we will have pizza & donuts.) (Because we love you.)

Check out all details on FB and RSVP here! 
 

What time does the swap start?
Sunday, October 1st from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm! Stop by anytimeeee! 

141 Suburban Rd, San Luis Obispo, California 93401 (At the Wedding Space over by Trader Joe's) (There will be signs!)

What kind of clothes can I bring?

All kinds! Shoes & accessories included! Basically any clothes you don't wear anymore / want to donate, we will take em :) (Childrens' clothes, too!)

When and where can I drop off the clothes?
Bring your clothes with you the day of or you can drop your bags off any time of day after Thursday, September 28th at The Wedding Space!

Anything else I can bring?
YES! The Women's Shelter has let us know they are in need of feminine hygiene products as well as food & gas gift cards. We will be taking those donations at the swap as well!

What if I can't make it day of?
Donate anyway! Feel free to drop off clothes beforehand or send them with a friend!

I can just take whatever I want fo' free?
You can take whatever you want fo' free. Just try em on first!

What should I wear?
Something you can easily try clothes on over! (Although we will have dressing rooms!)

How often do you do this?
I do this every quarter- so the next one will be in the Winter! YAY!

Cannot wait to see you guys & hang out!! 

If you have any questions, please email me or ask in the Facebook event!!
 

YAY!

SO EXCITED to see you all there!!

Things That Have Changed At My Age

Things that have changed at my age… Oh f did that title make it sound like I was gonna tell you what “Gravity has done to my body” or something that old people say? I don’t have too many parts that gravity can take over, but like I guess I will learn about that when I’m in my 40s?  I’m not that old guys, relax. I mean I’m close but not THAT close.

I am though old enough to realize that shit is changing around here. It’s not my birthday anymore (just a few days ago!), and usually these types of posts are reserved for birthday posts but GUESS WHAT I have learned that I give zero effs about any kind of rules, and almost nobody else does either and we’re all just following them because.. literally I don’t know. Maybe I will figure that out during my 28th year, keep you posted.

I’m writing this “Things that have changed at my age” post because like GOODNESS GRACIOUSNESS the last week I have just removed my spectacles of busy-ness and taken a step back to look at my life. I’m subscribing to REAL SIMPLE MAGAZINE. LIKE A FREAKING ADULT. You wanna know the cover that got me to subscribe? The one with folded laundry on it. LIke not a picture of Selena Gomez but LAUNDRY. Crisp and clean and like VERY SATISFYING. I was like SUBSCRIBE ME TO THAT SHIT AND NOW. I WANT ALL THE FOLDED LAUNDRY. GIMME DAT. And I pulled out the little postcard paper thing from ONE OF THE TWO COPIES I bought of the magazine because yeah I BOUGHT THE MAGAZINE TWICE because I forgot I had bought it the first time and apparently reALLY WANTED TO KNOW how to “Get It Done!” like the cover says. HElp me Real Simple help me.

I’m still reading Cosmo tho nobody worry. Still cool. Still youthful. Or whatever.

Other things that have changed:

1. I’m starting to consider Botox, I’m getting LASIK in September (good bye contacts!), and I’m like alright Asia if you want a boob job it’s pretty much now or never.

2. My friends are getting engaged and it’s not weird. It’s like pretty normal and awesome and I’m so proud of my friends for their choices in husbands.

3. I have legitimately forgotten some of my friends’ maiden names. Some of my friends I NEVER EVEN KNEW THEIR MAIDEN NAME. WHO EVEN ARE YOU PEOPLE.

4. I started investing in COMFORTABLE shoes. Or at least attempting to invest in comfortable shoes- are there any comfortable + cute shoes? I’ve found 2 pair. During my thirty eight hours and counting hours of scouring the world wide web and the few shoe stores that exist in SLO. El Naturalista brand so far is really doin it for me. ALso Skechers, which is what I wear when I travel, which is why none of y’all ever see my feet in snaps/photos when I travel. Ever.

5. My pores ARE EFFING HUGE.

6. I take fish oil and probiotics and prenatal vitamins like every day. Because I’m like IF I DON’T TAKE CARE OF ME WHO WILL.

7. I cried the entire length of a plane ride about the fact that my perfect nephew Beau is not a baby anymore, that I don’t know if he will want to let me cuddle him til he falls asleep, that we will literally NEVER get back the days where he used to just lay on my chest for hours at a time (mostly because he couldn’t walk yet and had no other choice). This isn’t a “Darnit, I should’ve gone to Greece when I lived in France I was so close! Now it’s going to be so much more expensive to fly from California, I really regret that choice, should have taken advantage of it while I had the chance!” No. It’s not like it will be more expensive/more inconvenient/harder. It’s like. THere is no more chance to cuddle him more, see him more, kiss him more. Literally that time of life will NEVER happen again. Did I mention I actually CRIEDD about this, bawled about it really, snot dripping down my face and everything, while I watched videos of Beau on full volume in a plane full of people who 100% thought Beau probably DIED and only put up with videos of Beau saying “WHere we gonna go? Starbucks!” and “Hi Uncle Beard!” And “Do you want to wrastle?” because they thought that I was a mourning aunt. Well, I kind of was, and Im so so happy that I get to see Beau THIS WEEK, I wish I could see him every day all the time and maybe then he’d never grow up. Like you know how they say A watched pot never boils? Maybe a watched nephew never grows, but I don’t think it works that way :(

8. I realize that I actually give great advice and have, like, a shit ton of wisdom to share. Roles have changed from me always being the one to ask for advice, soak it up, seek mentors-- I’ve gotten to the point/age/height (haha jk jk) where people actually look up to meeee. And, like, I’m not bad at it. I’m a great effing role model. So far, that’s my favorite part of getting older, 100%.
    

9. That and that my house is SO MUCH NICER My God. My 25 year old self is SO JEALOUS of my 28 year old self’s place. So jealous.

10. OR maybe airport lounges. Maybe that’s my favorite part of getting older. It’s a toss up really.

11. I have a washing machine in my house. With a dryer, like right next to it. They live in their very own room. It’s called “The Laundry Room”. Still haven’t figured out what happens in there, but at least I still have surprises left in life!

12. I stopped deleting blurry photos because I’m like dude if this was the only photo I had of this person and I deleted it and thEY DIED I WOULD BE SO HEARTBROKEN. I’ve only had one very close person to me die in my adult life, and if I had a blurry photo of him and I together I Would have that blown up the size of Texas and framed on my wall forever. I care less about perfect photos than I do about people. So I delete none. And I also got the biggest size iPhone memory because I’m an adult and running out of space SUPER pisses me off.

13. My high school ten year reunion is in a few weeks. I thought I’d be hella old with hella babies and not saying hella by the time my ten year came around. Nope. Here we are, still hella young with no babies still saying hella. That may never change.

14. TMI: I calculated the other day how many times I have had my period in my life and decided ya know what enough’s enough. When can I sign up for menopause.

15. I just went to Europe for the first time since I lived there 5 years ago and I stayed in zero hostels. If that doesn’t tell you I’m an adult I don’t know what does.

16. I cannot get enough of the BIble. Joyce Meyer devotionals are my jam. Family life radio?  Literally my jam.

17. Even with my very closest of friends, I have to make plans like over a month in advance to do something more substantial than coffee. Like “Wanna do dinner in September?” & it’s July. All my friends and I now share a travel calendar because like why do adults leave town so much?

18. At some point I’m like WOAH what if we don’t have kids?! *gasps*

19. I have learned some discipline. I went keto for 6 weeks (Google it) and cut out sugar and carbs and just like, also practically conquered the world. I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve been that proud of myself (not in a weird pathetic way just like THIS WAS A REALLY BIG DEAL). Discipline is not my strong suit, and getting older I think I’ve really tried to hone in on things I want to improve about myself- and then you know, like, improve them.

20. I figured out how to display my Starbucks mug collection, because I legitimately have like 40 of them. And it looks super good! That may literally be my proudest adult moment pretttyyyy sure.

21. We bought an espresso machine. Like to make coffee at home. ANd like. I use it. Every day. And I like it. Tell no one.

22. Other things I have purchased:

    1. My first real bathing suit. That shit was not cheap. I look super amazing in it.

    2. Swimsuit cleaner for said suit?

    3. A reverse osmosis water purifying system? Or something?

    4. A real dresser. Like not from Ikea. Although I did buy 3 Ikea dressers for the guest bedroom to make up for it. Wait, eff, why do guests need 3 dressers?...

    5. Laundry detergent PODS because like the liquid stuff gets everywhere, the damn jug is heavy, hurts my wrist and you know what SINCE I GUESS I HAVE TO DO LAUNDRY NOW I’m not putting up with that shit.

    6. Downy wrinkle releaser. The only reason I remember that is because it’s in an unopened box right in front of me, so I didn’t say I used it, and I’m not at the age where I start ironing, so here we are at the “At least BUYING wrinkle releaser” age. I wonder if I will ever use it?

    7. Oh, John bought me a ring ;) Maybe that’s my favorite part of getting older. Yeah. The ring, for sure :p
        

23. I’M GONNA CHANGE MY NAME. Only adults are allowed to do that.

24. I’m finishing writing this blog post at 6:15 am and I’ve already been awake for an hour folding LAUNDRY, reading the Bible, doing a touch of work, because I went to sleep at 7 last night because I’m an adult and can do what I want. Also because I am jet lagged but that’s not the point.

25. I am still so very much so myself, just.. Better. At everything. So I guess that's what's changed. I feel  so much better at my age than I thought- I thought 28 sounded SO OLD. Now Im like DAMNNN Im so freaking young I have my whole life ahead of me! And look how much I’ve already done! So for those of you who fear getting old, fear not, because when you are actually old, you won’t be scared. You will be PUMPED. 

Here's why I love working with sororities (part 2)

We are right in the middle of Fall Photo Off, this weekend I photographed 400+ gals, half of them in the rain, and I will be in sorority land for at least another week while I calculate votes (you can still vote on Instagram - @asiacrosonphotography & at asiacroson.com!) and announce winners and dole out photoshoots like "You get a picture, you get a picture, everybody gets a picture!!" Remember how I like to think I'm Oprah? 

Last week I wrote about why I love working with sororities- because they are such great platforms for the two things that I valued most about my college experience (you can read that one here!), but today I am thinking more about why I love being around them in general.

Why I Love Working With Sororities (Part 2)

1. Enthusiasm

These girls are their own best cheerleaders. Have you ever been to a Bid Night? It's like a football game on crack, or like everyone's just won an Oscar, there are tears and proof that white girls can jump. There is no shame in the screaming and yelling game, no lack of pride for who they are, what they are a part of, and what they stand for.

I also LOVE Fall Photo Off and how the girls are seriously so ready to rep their crew (anybody remember America's Best Dance Crew?), and go all out voting for their sorority. They are seriously on it- the winners this year will have over a thousand likes in one day. That's nuts.

2. Loyalty

I've been taking AXO's Bid Night photos for four years, Gamma Phi Beta's recruitment photos for three, I'm on the fourth generation of a string of friends who make it a tradition to attend their little's/grand little's/great grand little's senior photos, and I know they're coming back because these photos are awesome, duh, but I also know that they have about a hundred options and they are still choosing me. These girls are my people.

3. Networking

But it's not just about me- they're loyal to each other. If I have a gal in one sorority that has a particular talent (say, styling), or works in a  certain field (say, marketing) or has a graduation cap from last year- they are hands down willing to lend a hand to another sister in their sorority. The networking capacity is UNREAL, seriously. These gals aren't just a homogenous group of pretty 20 somethings, they each bring a kick ass personality & WORLD to the table, and being part of a sorority (or photographing them) is like having access to an entirely different world. (This really reminds me of my post about old friends vs new friends!) They are so willing to share and help and contribute and be a part of something awesome for other people. I love being around gals who do so much for each other, and in turn make my job & what I do so much better.

On top of that, the internships that I have provided through these sorority gals has been nothing short of AWESOME, but that's a whole other topic. 

4. Power of word of mouth

When these girls love my photos, they post them for weeks on end. This is a photographer's DREAM= for their clients to love & share their work so that they can have more amazing clients like the ones they've already had. I know when a senior comes to me and says "You did Lily's photos!" that we are gonna have a blast, because anyone who is a friend of a client is a friend of mine. I pride myself in loving and connecting with my clients, who send me to more people just like them. It's like a domino effect of awesomeness. 

5. Go big or go home

These girls go all out. My first Bid Night I was like this is like nicer than a wedding. Like. They have DJs and lighting and get it catered and have candy bars? Like. Thats amazing. They dress up & do fun activities & how easy & fun does that make my job? I don't wanna show up to a half assed gathering to take photos & make it look fun & cool- and I never have, because these girls do WORK. Also, can we talk about I couldn't put together an event that nice for 300 people if my life depended on it, and these girls do it on a regular basis. Again, the experience they're getting from being in charge of that is AMAZING. Someone plan my birthday party for me next year, k thanks.
When these gals come to photoshoots, they have 25 different options of necklaces and white dresses and wedges (that they've borrowed from their sorority sisters or roommates, back to networking- closet networking is definitely networking), and they are not afraid to go allll out on our shoots. Again, there is no half assing. They trust me with their big visions, and I'm all in.

6. An excuse to take photos, DUH.

Last but not least, I love having excuses to take a zillion photos. These gals have events and celebrations and anniversaries and occasions allll the live long year, and nothing makes me happier than being able to capture these awesome memories. This isn't a job where I'm likeNOOOO DONT MAKE ME WORK ALL THE TIME, photography is my PASSION, the love of my life, and any excuse I have to take more photos is like a surprise party. Like opening a box of gluten free, sugar free Oreos that taste like the real thing. Like the baby cherub angels are singing Rihanna songs from heaven and the dance floor is empty and purple confetti is raining down and all my friends are there (well the ones who like to dance), and it's my birthday. Yeah. 

No need to rush, but I'm already looking forward to the next decade, when these girls get to look back at all the photos & are so happy that we took so many. I will probably never know how that makes them feel, I won't know how many times girls re-look at photos of their Bid Night, I won't know every time they scroll through BIg Little photos, or every time they use their senior pics for a resume or to update their LinkedIn or as a print for a grandparents Christmas gift. But I like to pretend that it's about 8 times a week per person (if we did the math THATS A LOT), because that's how often I peruse my old photos, and get jolts of joy from how awesome my life has been this far. UGH I JUST LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY SO MUCH.

And these girls.

Here's why I love working with sororities (Part 1)

This year marks the fourth year that I will be working with Cal Poly sororities, and it feels like I’ve photographed them my whole life, and also feels like I just had the brilliant idea for Fall Photo Off only yesterday. In the last four years, I’ve taken thousandsssss of photos of these gals, watching lifelong friendships being made and celebrated, lives literally being changed, people given roles & responsibilities that will give them experience and confidence to do amazing things. Over the last four years, I’ve learned why I love supporting Cal Poly’s sororities, what I love about working with them- and there’s a lot a lot of reasons.

So, this is part numero uno.

Let’ start by talking about me, of courseee.

The biggest reason my college career was so amazing was because I had THE BEST of friends. I didn’t find them in a sorority, but in French class & on the cheer team & right in my very own dorm room. That feeling of belonging I had with my friend group was the foundation of my confidence, which allowed me to thrive being whoever I wanted to be- an academic, a dancer, single, hard-working, non-drinking, overall pretty awesome. I had wiggle room to try new things, or to NOT try new things, because I knew who my friends were (and are), and I never felt alone, judged, or bored (WHICH IS HUGE!).

The second reason my college career kicked so much ass was because I WORKED MY ASS OFF. I didn’t realize until recently that all the jobs I held in college had a piece in giving me the experience to run my own business right out of school- without learning professional communication skills, systematic record keeping & client management for other people, I would’ve been years behind in trying to figure out how to do all that for myself.

Now, let me tell you something about these girls.

They work their asses off. They are managing hundreds of their peers, event planning and organizing, negotiating with vendors, building a community out of thin air. They are gaining experience that will LITERALLY put them years ahead professionally, they are learning how to manage different personalities, rules & regulations, public speaking, how to contribute to a community, and how to represent themselves as a united whole as well as represent themselves properly as an individual.

It’s not easy. (Not to mention they're doing it all in heels & in incredibly specific shades of blue.)

But you know what makes it easier? Friends. (See how this is all tying together?) I have photographed two girls meeting for the first time at Bid Night, who years later tell me they’ve been best friends ever since.  I have photographed tons of actual sisters who get to be in the same sorority, go to the same events and functions and now have memories that will give them something in common for life. I have watched girls blossom from no-clue-who-I-am-or-what-I’m-doing, to confident young women who have a place they belong, and people to rely on. Having the opportunity to meet the greatest friends of your life, to strengthen the relationships you already have, that isn’t something that is just like oh, take it or leave it. It’s literally life changing. I’d be nothing without my friends and I LOVE supporting these sororities that promote new friendships in a time of our lives when we need good friends the most.

If I could wish anything on anyone, it would be amazing friends & experience-based confidence. When it boils down to it, those two things made my life into the fulfilling ride it has been. And these sororities are dolling out friends & confidence like it’s their job, because literally, it is.

I could go on, but we will save that for the next post :)

Love you gals <3

In the meantime, I’m getting ready to photograph thousands of them this weekend for Fall Photo Off and I am PUMPED. Get ready for some more amazing photos!

Here for AXO's Bid Night photos? Click here! 

Here from KKG? Click here!

Here from GPhi? Click here!

Confession: My mom has breast cancer

Confessions:

My mom has breast cancer, let's just start with that. I find that I handle things INCREDIBLY well, totally something I pride myself on, but there's nothing like hearing CANCER. And then there's surgeries, surgery complications, bruises and stitches and then when that's all over, there's chemo. We didn't even know there would be chemo. There's lymphedema bracelets and pink ribbon attire, wigs and scarves in preparation for the inevitable, there's my mom's undying appreciation that I cleaned the microwave because she's too sick to do it herself. There's seeing where I get my unwaveable faith- from my mom who has been so positive and faithful, but who is also being shaken by how hard the next six months is going to be. There's my dad who's holding it together, and my sister who.. is doing her best. There's coping with the realization that I do not have the emotional capacity to know how to handle my mom having freaking CANCER. It's the guilt for sitting in a coffee shop and writing this blog post instead of being home with her. It's trying to juggle editing four weddings after my computer crashed and trying NOT to use the excuse "Oh hey, my mom has breast cancer and my computer crashed, so this is going to take a little longer than I thought." It's knowing that other people, even very very close friends, are going through the same thing but even harder and it's looking at them  like how does this work. What's lymphedema. Why can't you floss during chemo. Should I be there during chemo, right after, right before? Does it hurt? Does it help? What can I do?

So things are a bit tough right now.

Not just because my computer completely crashed (don't worry, no files were lost, just A LOT OF work I had done on them), not just because my phone crashed four times, or that one of my lenses broke, or that my dad broke his foot, my grandma came down to take care of them and then her dog died so she went home early, not just because we are trying to find a new place to live which seems to be impossible downtown SLO, not just because I'm up in my eyeballs in editing weddings, sororities, or that I'm about to enter the busiest weeks of the year with Fall Photo Off and I'm so behind, but things are hard because when I'm not with my mom, thinking about my mom, talking about my mom, just realizing that OH MY GOD WHY ARE THERE SO MANY THINGS OUT OF MY CONTROL THAT I JUST CANNOT PROCESS AS A HUMAN is, just, rough.

I love you SO MUCH, my kindest and most supportive clients and friends and readers and everything, my Snap friends who have been saying such kind words with all the heart emojis and good vibes. I'm really good at looking like I have my shit together and am just prancing around weaving and vacationing and drinking coffee, and I'm definitely pulling it together, but it's gonna be a long haul. 

So I'm asking for your grace.

And your prayers, and to get checked, because the only reason my mom caught it early is because she checked herself and told the doctors "I really think something's not right." So get checked. Seriously.

Anddd I don't think I need any more confessions after that, do I?

And here's my mom, she's so pretty <3

4 ways to make yourself happy

Something I really pride myself in is being super happy- I attribute a lot of that to my faith, my personality, my occupation, my amazing friends, bae, I could go on and on.. 

But you know what? Being happy takes work sometimes. Sometimes it takes some effort, a little bit of elbow grease. Sometimes you don't even realize you're just going through the motions, that things are like fine, but not like WOAH- and that you have a choice to wake up every day and be happy. Happiness is not just the absence of sadness, or anger, or boredom. Happiness is a little extra, it's looking forward to something, it's checking in with yourself & being proud of what you discover, it's designing your life just how you like it. 

Being happy on purpose isn't effortless (I would dare say that those are contradictory terms), but it also isn't, like, hard.

I'm a big fan of checking in with myself, like hey you doing alright? You like what we're wearing today? Did you like waking up early this morning? How could today be better for you? What didn't feel good for you? And then listening to myself. But you have to ask yourself the questions. Because sometimes the answers are sooo simpleeee.

---

The 4 Happy Lists:
 

1. What makes you happy in general
2. What makes you happy that you don't do often enough
3. What makes you happy now, but not later
4. What makes you happy later, but not now

---

My Simple Answers:
 

1. Happy In General (I really wish this acronym spelled H.U.G., alas, it spells HIG.)
-wearing necklaces
-coffee
-Skyping my nephew
-hanging out with bae
-seeing lighthearted movies
-having my nails done
-fun photoshoots
-listening to audiobooks
-planning my next trip
-just living in SLO

Those are simple things aren't they? But all added up, they make a huge difference in my life. If I removed all those tiny things in my life, I.would.be.mucho.not.happy.

---

2. Happy + Need To Do More
-yoga
-playing Settlers of Catan
-baking
-going out dancing
-reading my devotional
-doing my hair
-catching up with my long distance friends
-planning my outfits for the week

And when you write these things down, you realize how easy it is to start doing them more often. 

---

3. Happy Now, Not Later
-eating a ton of Oreos
-sleeping in
-wearing uncomfortable but adorable shoes
-not getting up to plug in my phone before I fall asleep because I'm too comfy (and then having my phone die in the middle of the night this is the worsttt)

These are also called bad decisions.

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4. Happy Later, Not Now
-cleaning my room
-getting myself to the yoga studio
-taking off my make up
-putting money in my savings account

Paige calls this "Taking care of my future self." These things could also be called adulting.
 

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See what I mean by simple answers?

When you ask yourself what makes you happy, you realize it just takes the tiniest efforts, like putting a necklace on & grabbing an espresso. (Talk about what doesn't make me happy? The NOT word expresso.) And when you think about it, it's the little things like that give you a little oomph, a little something extra, a little pep in your step. That's what I live for.

What do you live for?

Your New Friends vs the Old Ones

Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver, and one is gold.

In case we needed further proof that I cannot tell the future, I had no idea that 2016 would be the year I made a million new friends. I have pretty solid old friendships, and didn't feel the need to branch out, fall in love (for the lack of a better more friendship related term), have more social connections. I didn't know that I'd find myself in exciting fun new friendships that would take me to Canada, on road trips up the PCH, or to a coffee shop every single morning, that would have me considering surfing for the first time, wearing purple eyelashes, trying to be more like a pineapple.

Old friends, the gold friends, who know your stories, and will remember them and laugh with you about them for the millionth time. Old friends who won't judge you for your choices, you know 100% sure, because if they would've judged you for your choices, they would've done it by now. Old friends, who you have years of trust and faith and wiggle room with. Who can tell you when you're repeating mistakes, or when you're being too chicken and they've seen this exact situation work out great for you before. Who gawk at how fast your nephew is growing up, because they remember when your sister just announced she was pregnant.  Who know who you were, can appreciate how far you've come.

We rarely need reminding of how important our old friends are, our true friends, our life longers, our bridesmaids, future God mothers (or fathers) to our children. Especially as we get older, we hold on to our friends for DEAR FREAKING LIFE because we hear all the time how much harder it is to make friends in adulthood. The oldies, the goodies, the ones we will never let go.

But remember, even those old friends were new friends once.

As God brings a litany of new friends into my life, I feel myself appreciating the solid state of my old friends, and enjoying all the freshness of the newbies. This brings a sports reference to my mind, which is how I know John has officially permeated my brain- it's like Hall of Famers and Rookies of The Year. Both famous. And awesome.

New friends, though, Rookies of the year, if you will, bring so many different things to the table:

Appreciation that you are still interesting, cool, and fun.

Sometimes when I don't connect with someone I'm talking to, I think OMG this is it, I've officially become lame and boring and uninteresting and I don't have anything to say and why would anyone even like me anyway besides my old friends who have to like me because time says so. OF COURSE my old friends still love me, we hung out when I was cool and hip and could get into all the bars for free (not that I still can't do that, thank you very much), and was full of life and potential and funny one liners. OF COURSE THEY LOVED ME THEN. BUT NOW?! HOW IS ANYONE GOING TO LOVE ME NOW?! 

But new friends make me feel like HALE YEAH. My jokes are funny, even though I've told them a million times, I do indeed still have great perspective, enough for people to travel across the country to just hang out with me, that even new people can see that I bring value, and fun, and inspiration to their lives, without years of proof. That my contribution to their lives from the very beginning is worth investing time in. That's a confidence builder, a personality affirmer, a beautiful thing to appreciate if I've ever heard of one.

Making new friendships is kind of like dating in a way. It's kind of like realizing that someone finds you attractive, and you're like Yeah. I still got it. ;) (Just for the record, John and my old friends always make me feel like I still got it. Because I still do have it. Booya. But just in case I doubt them and think they are just blinded by years of love, my new friends are proof!)

The chance to retell your story your way with your new perspective.

This has been the most surprising revelation to me. I've always appreciated that my old friends were THERE for my biggest moments in history, they know the characters and the climax of my stories and were there when the plot thickened and when it fizzled out. Sometimes you just want to call and be like "Remember Susie? Yeah THAT Susie, anyway did you know that she married BOB?!" without having to explain who Susie is and who Bob is and why that is even remotely interesting. 

But the fun part about new friends is getting to retell that story. Probably not Susie & Bob's story, because, really who cares, but your story. How many times have you called up an old friend and rehashed how you chose your life path? Probably not very many times, probably zero, because they were there for the whole thing. But now, in your wise way, you can retell that story with the hindsight that gives you 20/20 perspective. It's incredibly therapeutic. You can make that story have any tone you want- with complete control over how you share your stories, your life path, how you got to where you are. Including details that you could only add now that you're through it. Excluding details that you realize weren't important. Pulling out the meaning and the message- I love this part.

You learn so much more about yourself when you have to talk about who you are from the beginning. It's not just your story itself but HOW you tell it that shows you who you are.

I love looking back and thinking about moving to Australia, and how that's played a huge part in my confidence in life. I love telling about CJ coming to my summer school classes because we were just so connected at the hip, or how about dancing five nights a week, because when we were going through it that was just, like, normal. SO many things in retrospect are NOT NORMAL, but they felt so freaking normal, or even insignificant. And when I tell my new friends, and they react like HOLY HEAVENS YOU DID WHAT?! It gives me a chance to really appreciate the cool things I've done to get to where I am, to enjoy my story all over again. To be able to surprise people with Fun Facts About Me (I speak fluent French!) that have played such a huge part in my life story, that makes people go woahhhhh, whaaa? Maybe this just goes back to feeling cool again...

An excuse to do all kinds of new things.

Every new person is a whole new world. (A whole new worllddddddddd, a magic place I never knewwww.) They have new perspectives, and different hobbies, connections, skills, passions. It's LITERALLY like discovering a new country- with new beaches, history, cool places to eat, a new culture, sometimes a new language, new sports, celebrities, fashion. I mean just think about HOW COOL IT WOULD BE TO DISCOVER AN ENTIRELY FUNCTIONING COUNTRY that you never even knew existed. 

Each person is like a travel guide, showing you the ins and outs, and why it's so cool to visit there. DUDE EVERY NEW FRIENDSHIP IS LIKE A FREAKING VACATION. I am getting really fired up about this metaphor.

I LOVE thinking about the new things my friends have shown me or taught me or shared with me, and how much fun and color they have added to my life. Sometimes they are LIFE CHANGING, and sometimes they are fleetingly scary. Don't even get me started on the people you meet through new friends, the connections you make, the new foods, activities & make up products you'll try, oh how beautiful the world is when you realize you have so much more left to discover.

The ability to focus on the present.

As great as it is to relive the good ol' days, to tell old stories and remember old memories, sometimes it's just as nice to NOT do that. You know how hard it is to chat for hours about memories with someone who you didn't share those memories with? You know what's a lot easier? Talking about the present, which you do share with your new friend. Digging deep into what's CURRENTLY going on, your hopes & dreams for your future, because you literally have no other choice.  Sure, you'll tell your history, but you also don't have to.

And don't you also find yourself doing more ACTIVITIES with new friends? It's just like dating, you're always going on new dates with your new beau right? And then you get comfy and start Netflixin, which is just as enjoyable, but what's obviously great about friendships is that you can have your Netflix & chiller andddd go on fun new dates. Friendships are polygamous. AND they can get along. What I'm basically saying here is that you can have a ton of sister wives. AWESOME. This is a great segway.

You're making the world a smaller, more connected place.

An even more fulfilling part about making new friends for myself is sharing them with my old friends. I really enjoy bringing all my friends together and making the BEST SQUAD EVER. I love watching new friends connect, forming their own little recipe of awesomeness, collaborating and shrinking the world into a Pangea of vacationable spots. (DAMN my metaphors are on fire today.)

And a lot of the time when you make new friends, it's with people who are looking to make MORE new friends. (Who have just moved here, are thinking about moving here, have just started their own business or a new job). And what a blessing you are to be able to say "Hey I've got ten people I think you'd really connect with" and then sharing all these amazing benefits of new friends with those people. It's just the gift that keeps on giving, let me tell you.

Be generous with who you are (thanks Amy), and be generous with who your friends are, too.

Long story short, keep your old friends, and be excited for the new ones. There's so much fear when you're one of those people who really needs new friends, but I am inviting you to replace that fear with excitement. Paige has a great blog post about making new friends after moving, and you can read that here. And when you make those new friends, BE PUMPED. A whole new world awaits.

Cheers to my new friends & my old, I'd be so much less cool without you ;) <3

Why I'm Shooting Every Day (#asiaperdiem)

"What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while." - Gretchen Rubin

Ohhhh does that quote get you like it gets me? Does it challenge you and make you wanna wake up early and eat broccoli and call your mom and read the Bible on a daily basis? Me too, me too.

That quote makes me want to do what MATTERS to me the most. Saying something MATTERS to you means super little when you never do it, or when you do it when you feel like it, or whenever the opportunity rises, or when someone else will do it with you. Something that matters to you means it's worth whatever it takes.

You know what matters to me? My craft (amongst a million other things that are also very important to me). How I treat my clients, direct them, pose them, where I take them, the experience they get working with me, how they feel during the shoot, after the shoot, a year later. What they think about when they look at the photos we take- what they think about themselves, about SLO, about this time in their lives. If they can't wait to show these photo to their moms, their boyfriends, their friends, their future children. If they walk away feeling more confident, more present, and more excited about life.

That really really matters to me.

I want my craft to matter. 

So, this summer, we are shooting every single day. 

In between client shoots, I am doing creative shoots all around SLO and the Central Coast and just lovvinngggg it. (#asiaperdiem- get it?)

I really wanted to make these shoots WORTH it, so I've made myself some rules:

1. The location has to be somewhere I've NEVER shot before.
2. I come prepared with screenshots of new poses to practice and perfect.
3. I get out of my comfort zone and try new things.
4. I only work with models who are really excited to work with me.

And then, to make it even funner, we have a team: SLO Blowout Bar, Natalie, my stylist, Allure Clothing in Paso, and many more to come, to make each shoot a chance to show off each other's work, because you know what else matters to me? My people, and SLO, and my community. And bringing it all together in a gorgeous picture? UGH I just can't get enough of how happy that makes me.

So be looking forward to a ton of shoots in new fun locations- we are, obvi, snapping the whole thing (if you don't have me on Snapchat, it's asiacroson!), and putting some sneak peeks on Instagram! If you have any new location spot recommendations, let me knowwww, I have been LOVING the recommendations I've got so far!

Left to right:
Cori, styled by SLO Blowout Bar, photographed at the top of the parking garage
Anette, photographed at the beach in Morro Bay
Sydney, hair and make up by Natalie, clothes by Allure Clothing, photographed atop a hill in Paso

This summer's gonna be great.

p.s. The fastest way to BE something is to DO something. Want to be a photographer, a chef, a stylist, a personal trainer? Take photos. Cook food. Style your friends, and train them, too. Then, voila, there you are. You are what you repeatedly do.

And I, my friends, am a fabulous photographer <3

What Really Happens After College & Advice About Everything & The Last 4 (or 5) Years For Me

Confession: I wrote this blog post last year & here we are finally posting it :) So imagine all the things I've done in the last year that I never thought I'd do!

TimeHop is sometimes my greatest friend & sometimes my meanest friend. Like. It’s been 8 years since I graduated high school? Cool, dude.  (p.s. Now it's been nine.)

BUT. The other day, on June 11, TimeHop told me I graduated college four years ago (ugh, five). And I mean, I know that, but the first thing I thought wasn’t “FML I am so old” and this is probably because I look twelve, but my first thought was “My goodness I have done so many things.”

You know, in college I was like really worried that life couldn’t get better. I had my best friends around me all the time, I was doing great at balancing social life (dancing 5 nights a week), responsibility (I got, like, really good grades), and I was somehow making really good money (more on that later). Feeling like you get a pat on the back for just going to class, “doing something for your future”, but also really enjoying your present- that’s a great, comforting, safe, relieving, and reassuring feeling. And after school, when you realize you have no idea how to invest in your future and you have no idea how to really enjoy the present, you hit restart and you get to figure it out all on your own. This is scary. And this is awesome.

When I graduated, here are the things I knew would happen:

• I would move to Australia
• I would move to France
• I would move somewhere else

Yep, that’s about it.

When I graduated, here are the things I thought would happen (they didn’t):

• I would get my second degree in Speech Pathology (I was attending school online)
• I would go to grad school

When I graduated, here are the things I didn’t know would happen:

• I would be fluent in French
• I would go down an entirely different career path than my first degree (Foreign Languages) and even my second degree (Speech Pathology)
• I would move back to SLO & start a photography business & a magazine & a blog & fall in love & be so very, very happy
• I would become addicted to coffee
• I would figure out how to paint my nails & I would have purple hair

Here are things that you have no idea you’re going to do, but you’re definitely going to do (not that I can tell the future or anything but psh maybe I can):

1. Chop/dye/finally figure out your hair
2. Make new friends (like really), probably your coworkers, which seems just convenient, but is actually awesome
3. Keep old friends (the good ones)
4. Stop talking to/seeing your friends on a daily basis (AND REALIZING THIS IS TOTALLY FINE)
5. Travel
6. Stay at home on Saturday nights because that feels good
7. Get hotter
8. Become more confident (which is even more awesome than actually getting hotter)
9. Gain weight (then freak out and probably lose it)
10. Change jobs
11. Question whether or not you will make your children go to college because who uses their degree anyway
12. Fall in love/get married/fall out of love/break up (well, that pretty much covers it)
13. Start getting facials & start wearing sunscreen
14. Stop shopping at Forever 21 (This will take a while. This is my first year Forever 21 free.)
15. Really figure out the kind of people you want to spend time with
16. Forget about everybody else
17. Become an aunt (biologically or not)
18. You MAYBE find a really nice place to live, but like reserve that for your 30s
19. Become pretty okay with not having it figured out

Here’s a list of things that you’re going to worry about that are stupid:

1. You won’t make any friends
2. You will never have any more fun
3. If you don’t figure out what you’re doing right now, then you’re never going to get it
4. If you don’t land an internship/get a job/get married right now, then you’re way behind
5. You’re never going to get married
6. If you have to live at home, you’re a failure (free rent is like almost never a failure)

Here’s how you can assure none of those stupid concerns ever really come to reality:

1. Make effort in your friendships (friendship is all about showing up)
2. Let go of your old ways of fun if they’re not fun for you anymore (maybe drinking til 3 am isn’t fun for you anymore!! Bummer!) and then find out what it is (Day trips for horseback riding? AWESOME.)
3. Try a lot of things. Do something. 
4. Change your mind if you don’t want to do it anymore.
5. Work really hard. Do everything 100% and then you won't feel like a quitter if it's really just not for you.
6. Read Ecclesiastes 3 and own it.
7. Calculate that if you meet somebody now, date for two years, get engaged for a year, then you will be married at 25. YOU’RE FINE.
8. Really appreciate your Mom and call her often.

You maybe just graduated. Or it's maybe been a year or two. Or maybe you're graduating next year. Let me tell you, sister, life gets better. I promise.

My Dream-Chasing Timeline (so you know you're not behind)

Last night, I photographed Gisselle’s wedding and had the pleasure of hanging out with a ton of my clients who were guests (WHICH IS THE BEST WAY TO SPEND A WEDDING EVER), and one of them asked me how I knew photography was like the thing I would do, told me that she was waiting for the thing she wanted to do, and that she felt a little behind, considering she had already graduated and still didn't know. I nodded in sympathy, I feel like that, too, and then I was like WAIT A MINUTE. YOU’RE LIKE 5 YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME. Dude NOTHING had happened for me at the ripe old age of right-out-of-college, and things happen so much faster than you can imagine, but so much slower, too. It’s a lot of hurry up & wait (more like hustle hustle & wait) when you’re chasing your dreams (or finding out what they are), let me tell you from experience.

I told her that at her age, I was biding my time living in France still having NO CLUE what the heck I was doing with life. I mean, I was enjoying the hell out of myself- I don’t think that “not knowing what you want to do” is an excuse to hate what you’re currently doing- but I knew the path I was on, I wouldn’t be my path for long.

So I thought a Reader's Digest version of my timeline would be encouraging for you on your dream chasing journey. 

If you don't have it all figured out, then welcome to your 20s.
 

2009: Age 20/Third Year: 

Cried on my 20th birthday, because I had just decided to COMPLETELY change my life plan, realized I would need to get a different degree, and that everything I had planned for and prepared for up until that moment, I had rendered completely useless. AWESOME.

2010: Age 21/Fourth Year:

Started my senior year, and had abandoned the idea of being a neurosurgeoun (wtf?) and decided to be a Speech Therapist; I had been working as a Learning Therapist for a few years at this point and LOVEDDDDDD it. (I hadn’t picked up a camera til the last quarter of my senior year.) I applied to live in France through the TAPIF program, because I still had not a clue what I wanted to do after school- and the “get a job right after graduation” thing never sounded appealing, and I honestly don’t even think I ever considered it. I applied to Utah State University online, which is one of the only second-Bachelor’s degree program for speech therapy, and was online which was an added bonus as at the time I didn’t know Utah was beautiful (now I know!), it just sounded totally boring, andddd I was already accepted into the teaching program in France.  So online school for me to get another degree, as if one wasn’t already enough.

December of my senior year, I picked up the camera, and that’s a whole other story ;) Within a few months, I had convinced one of my bosses to loan me several thousand dollars to buy my own camera, and that he could garnish my wages $5 an hour to pay it back (needless to say that took forever- in fact I don’t think I paid it back until I moved back from France!).

March of my senior year, I was done with school- I had finished classes a quarter early because I’m a gross overachiever, and I had taken summer school because I loved school (and mostly because summer classes were cheaper & I was paying for myself), and so I had March-June to do whatever the heck I wanted. At the time I was working like 45 jobs, so I was just gonna work my butt off, get my motorcycle license (??) and bid my time until moving to France.
And then I decided to move to Australia.

I want you to know that at this point, I am done with school, I have purchased a super expensive camera, and I still have literally no idea what I was doing.

I sold my car for the flights to Australia, lived there for Spring Quarter, flew back to walk the line in June, and then flew BACK for the summer. I worked at a ski resort there, and hated EVERY SINGLE SECOND of that job. Again, I did not know what I wanted to do, but I knew that I did not want to work at a ski resort daycare where the minutes seemed like HOURS and I remember, for the first time, realizing that I was not prone to subjecting myself to things I did not enjoy (aka I do whateva I want) and I was proud of myself that the feeling was unfamiliar.  So I lived in Australia for a good 4 months and worked 11 days. Yup.  Ain’t nobody got time to work a job they don’t love.

Summer after my senior year, I moved back from Australia because I felt my life wasting away at that damn daycare, and worked back in SLO for a few months before moving to France.

2011: Age 22/First year out of college: 

At this point, I still had no idea what I was doing. I just started online school at USU, which I loved because I love school, and was about to go into the most life changing year of my life, so really nothing was picking up traction for my future yet.

While I was in France, I practiced photography all the time, non stop, day dreamed about it, ADIDAP. STILL had no clue it’s what I wanted to do.

February of my first year out of college, I decided I really wanted to fly home and surprise my best friend for his birthday. We hadn’t spent his birthday apart since we had known each other, and I was not down to let France get in the way of that. So, I posted on Facebook that I needed six photoshoots to be able to afford the flight home, and I got double. That’s the first time I realized I could get paid doing what I loved (STILL not that I knew at that time that’s what was going on).

June of my first year out of college, I moved back to SLO to... do something, who knew. The day I landed, the car I was going to buy fell through, my old learning therapy job told me they didn’t have enough hours for me, and the lease for the house I was going to move into didn’t start for another month. So in short, I was carless, jobless, and homeless.

Age 23/Second year out of college/2012:

By the grace of God, all things were fine (like always), and I accepted a nanny position with an amazing family in SLO where I would watch the kids 3 days a week and get free rent. CHILL.

I worked part time doing about 100 zillion things:
-Chase bank driver from 5 pm to 2 am twice a week
-Learning therapist 10-20 hours a week
-Nanny 3 days a week
-Real estate assistant
-Data processor for a solar company
- (and finally!) Photographer (but only kind of)

I asked a random guy who was a friend of a friend if he thought I should quit going to school to be a Speech Therapist and pretty much sacrifice all future’s stability, and take the leap to start a business, because I loved it. I really wanted an objective perspective, and pretty much told God to speak through this random dude and I would take whatever he said as a straight up sign from God. That random dude ended up being John, he told me to start the business, and we've been together ever since :) 

I got my business license in October of 2012 and quit school, and by January I knew that photography was something that could probably really happen for me, with a freaking lot of work and a lot more skill.

I got an office for photography in March of 2013/ my second year out of college, and at that time I half felt like I made it and half felt like I was tricking everybody (which is, surprise!, how I will continue to feel til like the day I die).

Age 24/Third year out of college/2013:

I moved out of the nanny house into a cute little apartment downtown (where I still live!), and pulled more hours at the other hundreds of jobs I had to support myself while trying to build up the business (which costs mucho money and takes mucho time).

I did my very first Fall Photo Off with sororities, and knew it was going to be a long haul until that paid off, but felt FREAKING BRILLIANT for thinking of that idea (which ended up being the best move I could’ve made as these sororities have been the most loyal & gorgeous foundations of my photography and business since).

I started panicking that I couldn’t sustain myself on a zillion part time jobs and a full time photography business (the first few years take A LOT OF FREAKING WORK), so I started working full time at the Learning Therapy place, out of fear, and self doubt, and impatience.  I can’t say I’ve made too many decisions with those motivations, but, again, I had no idea what I was doing.

I loved that job, let me tell you, but January came and business picked up FAST and I was taking days off to photoshoot, not sleeping to finish editing, and knew I was half-assing both my full time jobs. I had to make a really tough choice in deciding, again, do I quit stability or do I take some risks and follow what I love?

Let me check in with you: At this point, I KNEW what I wanted to do, I didn’t know IF I could- which was stupid. I knew I would put a shit ton of work into it, and I knew that people wanted my business. Those are just a few of the prereqs for quitting something to do your own thing.

Age 25/Fourth year out of college/2014: 

With the support of my amazing skill and beautiful sororities and John, I quit my full time job and went full time photography after a hundred years of doing other things.

Now that I write this, it doesn’t seem like that long. Like it only took you four years to figure out what you wanted to do & do it?
But GOD during, it FELT LIKE FOREVERRR.

Age 26/Fifth year out of college/ 2015-2016:

Now, the dream is still building, the magazine is almost at its year anniversary, I finally don’t need to work eighteen part time jobs,  and this is a very small summary of the last year that has been a whirlwind of AMAZINGNESS for my business. But it took years to get here. Years of Fall Photo Offs (which will never end), self exploration (which will never end), educating myself with workshops and seminars and practice (which will never end), hustling and trying new things and the magazine and putting myself out there and WORKING MY ASS OFF (which will never end).

So, long story short, my dear friend, you never catch your dream- you’re always chasing it. Every step along the way is getting you closer, even if it feels like it’s taking you a thousand miles away (… my journey took me literally thousands of miles away).  And every time you get closer, the dream grows. Chasing my dream isn’t “Starting a photography business” anymore- it’s take over the world ;) (Naturally, that’s the next step after starting your own photography business, right?) It’s having the magazine support a full time staff, it’s consistently blogging, it’s going to Saint Thomas for our anniversary, it’s growing the high school senior portraits part of my business, it’s doing 5 years, 10 years of Fall Photo Off, it’s photographing the weddings of all my sorority clients when that time comes (!! That happened for the first time this weekend!), it’s continuing to build a life I love in SLO with John and convincing my sister to move here with Beau ;)

And I would be so so sad if one day I woke up and thought  “And there it is, I’ve caught my dream.” Because at this point, chasing my dream is all I know how to do.

(Except if one day I woke up and Beau Bear lived here... Dream caught and squished and kissed and held onto forever & ever.)