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College Journey Part Three: A Summer Epiphany

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Once I had been home for a few weeks, I decided to go to Walla Walla and visit all of my high school friends, plus it was one of my closest friend’s birthday weekend, so we were going to celebrate. I had visited a few times during high school, but had never really enjoyed my time there, but most of that was circumstantial due to things happening in my personal life. I was determined to have a good time this weekend, plus I hadn’t seen my friends since Christmas break, so I was so excited to see everyone.

While I was there, I found an entirely different type of college experience. All of my high school friends had made a bunch of new friends. They were always in each other’s rooms, spending time together, going to parks, sharing clothes, and having fun together. I was not expecting that at all. My college experience was nothing like this, but I was happy to see them satisfied with their chosen school. Plus, it was refreshing to see that college wasn’t terrible for everyone.

Over the summer, I decided I wanted to do a semester abroad in England. In order to do this, I had to drop my honors program and do regular generals. The bad thing about this was that my only other friend was in the honors program, so I wouldn’t have any friends in my classes anymore. It was a tough choice to make, but I knew I would have an amazing time abroad during spring semester my sophomore year. Plus, one of my friends from high school was planning on going to the school in England as well, so I would be able to room with her and explore Europe by her side.

While I wasn’t excited for being back in Michigan for fall semester, I was super jazzed about going abroad for the spring, so it made up for it. I knew that it would be fine in the end, plus, I just wanted to travel. I would do anything to get out of Michigan.

I had a busy summer. I was working, helping out at home, and also trying to make time to spend with my high school friends, who, by then, had finally returned home for the summer. Finally, in my busy schedule, I had found time to fly down to Los Angeles and visit my aunt for the first time since my junior year of high school when we looked at colleges together.

At this point, I was supposed to return to Michigan in two weeks for school. That was when she asked me why I was going back at all if I didn’t want to go at all. My aunt had kept in contact with me though out my freshman year and she knew how hard it was on me, so when I told her I had a new plan and was going abroad, she was glad. She made a good point though, if I wasn’t happy, then why was I going back at all? Ironically, earlier that day I had a received an email from a school that I started applying to on a whim during fall semester when I was sure I was going to transfer, before I settled on just remaining where I was. 

I mentioned the email to her, explaining how they said there were two days left before the application deadline. She encouraged me to apply, and to get out of the school that I wasn’t happy at. Just one problem­–– I hadn’t even toured this school before, and I wasn’t sure I would like it. This school, Seattle University, was within an hour of my house, and located near the heart of Seattle. 

She helped me finish my application the next day, and kept me on task while I made calls to the head of admissions and the photography department. It was nearing the weekend, and I needed to know if I was even accepted as soon as possible, especially since I needed to find out if I was going to be going back to Andrews to stay for the semester, or just to pick up my car and drive straight home. Luckily, the people at the school were super accommodating, and told me quickly that I was accepted, and I arranged a tour with the school and then the department afterwards. 

Then came the hard part, telling my parents. They were very understanding and supportive, however I stressed my mom out since she was out of the country visiting family, and she was going to be gone and unable to help me for a while. 

Once I knew I was accepted, I was sure I wanted to leave Andrews. While I didn’t know if I would be attending Seattle University in the fall or taking time off from school, I did know for sure I would not be attending Andrews. Luckily, I had a flight and bus ticket booked in order to get me back to where my car was already since I was planning on returning for school, but instead, I decided to pick up my car and all my stuff, and then drive back to Washington. 

Luckily, my old roommate was able to join me on this expedition, and we drove from Indiana to Washington in three days. It was a wonderful adventure, and I am so thankful for everything that happened. 

I was relieved to be home, but I didn’t know what I was going to do next. Where would I end up? Was Seattle University the answer? I had a lot of thinking to do.

College Journey Part Two: College Life

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Andrews University has a special program where you can go four weeks before the start of the year, technically three weeks before orientation week, and take one class and get that whole semester-long class out of the way in three weeks. Due to my achievements in high school, I received a scholarship for this program, and was able to go for a discounted rate.

While this was wonderful, I was also devastated to be leaving so soon. My friends were all going to be attending Walla Walla University in the fall, and they were going to be on quarter system, so they didn’t start until September. I had to leave halfway through July to drive out to Michigan and start my jumpstart classes and actual college before all my friends were even thinking about their dorm room décor. 

Saying goodbye was the hardest part. I had been told for the past year by my parents that these people I had been friends with for the past four years would no longer be my friends by the end of my freshman year of college, and that I would be making new friends, and saying goodbye to them, knowing I may never see them again, was absolutely heartbreaking. 

I’ll skip over the sad details of all the goodbyes I said, and skip to the packing. As some of you may know, I drive a Volkswagen Beatle, which isn’t necessarily a huge vehicle. I had to fit all my stuff for school, as well as my mother and her bag, and myself, all in this tiny car and drive it across the majority of the United States. Surprisingly, this wasn’t as difficult as it sounds. To be fair, we did wait to buy quite a lot of stuff until I was in Michigan, but the car wasn’t super full, even with basically all my stuff in it.

The morning I left was hard on me. We woke up early to get on the road, and as the sun was coming up, I was hugging my dad and saying goodbye to my dog, who I was unsure would still be there when I came back, due to his old age.

Once my mom and I were on the road, my tears had dried a little bit and I started to try and focus on the road ahead. We had a fun road trip, and stopped to visit a few loved ones on the way over to Michigan. 

We arrived in Michigan on a Friday evening, and my mom was flying out on Sunday afternoon, so we had some time to get me settled before everything ready for me to start my summer session class on Monday. 

Those few days flew by, and I said a tearful goodbye to my mom before going up to the room and having my new roommate and her family come help move all of our furniture around so we could unpack and get settled. 

I really lucked out on the roommate front, and I was able to bond with her fairly quickly. Since she was a graphic design major, and I was a photography major, we had a lot in common, and we spent a lot of time together. After summer session ended, and we started our classes in the fall semester, we fortunately had a lot of the same classes together, so we became pretty close fairly quickly. 

As the year progressed, I had a hard time making more friends. I had two solid friends by the end of the year, one of them being my roommate, but she wasn’t going to be returning to Andrews the next fall. I was super sad about this, but I knew I would get to see her since she was going to come visit me over the summer.

While I wasn’t completely satisfied with my college experience at the end of my freshman year, I ultimately decided I was going to stay, even though I had explore the idea of transferring to another school for my sophomore year. I ended up leaving my car and all my stuff in a storage unit in Michigan so it would be ready for me to return to in the fall.

Finally, after what felt like years of being away from home, I was returning home for the summer.

Limited Descriptions

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For the time being, I have decided that my posts on Monday’s are going to about sharing elements of myself and my life with you.

This week, I decided to have some people that are close to me describe me in three words. Not only is this a good way for you guys to learn a little bit about me, but also I get to introduce you to some of my favorite people, and learning about them will also let you in to another aspect of my life.

One of the first people I contacted was my mother. My mom and I are pretty close, so I figured she would have a lot of insight into who I am, and would be able to describe me in three words pretty easily.

Mom: “You are indescribable. (3 words. You’re welcome.)”

Next to respond was my childhood best friend Maddie. Maddie is a year younger than me, and we have been friends since I was in fourth grade and she was in third grade. We used to spend every afternoon together, playing and making fun videos of us doing skits we would make up.

Maddie: “Bright, caring and loving.”

Sienna was one of my first friends when I moved from Alaska to the Seattle area. I’ve known her for over six years now, and even when I was attending a different school several states away, she and I were still in frequent communication and would hang out over school breaks. When I asked her this question, she responded almost immediately.

Sienna: “Loyal, efficient and friendly.”

One of my first friends in college in Michigan, Kyra, was also among the first to respond. Kyra and I have had a few classes together, and we had a lot of fun. She was one of two friends I had at Andrews, and we have kept in pretty consistent contact since I transferred.

Kyra: “Compassionate, funny and smart.”

Paxton Shock was among the people I texted as well. Pax and I have been friends for years, and they are someone I have always felt I could talk to about anything and everything. We became close my sophomore year of high school, and our worlds have drifted apart, but we still talk every day in some capacity. When I asked them to describe me in three words, they immediately asked me if I meant my personality or aesthetics. I told them to go ahead and do both.

Paxton: “Personality- witty, exuberant and demure. Aesthetic- Lithe, beautiful and Starbucks.”

I asked my friend Mariah this question too. Mariah and I have known each other for about six years, however she and I didn’t become super close until our sophomore year of high school. We are now in the same department with similar majors, so we have quite a few classes together and see each other frequently.

Mariah: “Hardworking, creative and leader.”

McKenna is a person who has been a great friend to me for years. She has been there for me in my hardest times, and I know we will be friends for years to come. We became super close near the end of my junior year of high school, and since then, though distance and busy schedules have made it difficult, we have remained fairly close.

McKenna: “Driven, authentic and accurate.”

Finally, I asked Christopher to describe me. Christopher and I have been friends since our freshman year of high school. At the end of 2018, we started that we wanted to begin dating, and as of now we have been together for over four months.

Christopher: “Creative, focused and thoughtful.”

It was interesting hearing what the people that I love think about me. They definitely described me with words I wouldn’t have even thought of. If I had to describe myself in three words, I guess I would have to say:

Compassionate, hardworking and loving.

My Camera: Nikon D5300

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I’ve been interested in photography for years. I bought my first DSLR before my sophomore year of high school, and I still have it today.

I purchased a Nikon D5300. It has a lot of wonderful features, but one thing I really like about it is the WiFi capability.

After downloading Nikon’s WMU app, I simply go into the settings on my camera and enable the WiFi, then use my phone to connect. After I am connected, I am able to use the app to download photos from my camera straight to my phone in a matter of seconds.

This feature is so helpful, especially in the fast paced world we live in today. When you do a photoshoot, people want to have access to the photos so they can instantly post them on social media. Thanks to this feature, I can get the photos to them in a matter of minutes, which is something my clients tend to appreciate.

I’ve had this camera for almost five years and it still functions just as well as the day I purchased it. The ability to change the lenses quickly makes it so much easier to get that perfect shot in any type of setting.

I will be posting about my photography frequently on this blog. I hope you enjoy the posts and be sure to follow my photography account on Instagram: @kirstenimages.

College Journey Part One: The Search

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I started seriously looking at colleges during spring break of my junior year. I was spending the break with my aunt in Los Angeles, and she suggested I start looking. After telling her I was interested in studying photography, she came up with a list of schools in the area that we take a look at, including University of Southern California, Otis College, and University of California, Los Angeles. 

Each school made me realize more of what I wanted out of my college experience. Otis College was specifically an art school, and I realized that if I decided photography wasn’t for me, then I would have to transfer schools to pursue something else, since I am not necessarily interested in pursuing any other forms of art for a career.

After looking at USC, I really liked the campus. It was stunning, and everyone I met seemed very kind. Not to mention, it was sunny and gorgeous. Unfortunately, I would later discover they did not offer a specific photography degree, rather a general art degree with a photography specialization, which wasn’t what I wanted, and ultimately helped me decide against applying there.

Then came UCLA, which also had a stunning campus. They were on spring break, so there wasn’t much going on and it was hard to get a real feel of what the campus was like. My aunt has told me for years that in order to really know if you want to attend a college or not, you need to go while school is in session. I knew I would have other opportunities to visit UCLA, so I decided to apply there for a photography degree.

Fast forward to my senior year. It is fall, and it is time to start the application process. I dragged my feet so much. I didn’t want to think about my senior year coming to an end. I was having so much fun. My mom helped me get focused by helping me create a spreadsheet of schools I was considering attending, and that helped me narrow it down. 

I ended up applying to UCLA, Andrews University, Pratt Institute, and Pacific Union College. All of these places offered photography degrees, and those were my top options. In the meantime, my high school had a college fair, in which a few colleges came, and if you applied to them right then and there, it was free. Due to this, I also ended up applying to Walla Walla University, Southern Adventist University, and a few others.

Due to the fact that I was applying for a bachelor’s in fine art degree at Pratt and UCLA, I had to submit a portfolio of my work. This process took weeks. I curated what I believed to be my best photographs and showed them to my family. My dad was not impressed with my choices, and helped me sort through all my images again and pick more photos that he believed were more artistic than the ones I had originally chosen. Over these few weeks of back and forth, I ended up going out and doing some more shooting, and the majority of photos that I ended up submitting were new images I took during those few weeks.

Fast forward a few months, and the acceptance and rejection letters started coming in. It has been a few years since I received these letters, so it is difficult to recall all of the ones I was accepted to, but I do know I was accepted to Southern, WWU, Pratt, Andrews, and PUC. That was when I had some tough decisions to make. I started to visit the schools I hadn’t seen, starting with Andrews University. My father and I went and toured the campus, and the people were so kind and I was so excited about all they had to offer. 

After that, we flew to New York and toured Pratt Institute. When we toured, the campus was nice, but very urban due to it being located in the city. The guide we had was kind, but she didn’t seem to know anything about the photography program at all, which I found rather concerning, especially since she was a film major, and the two usually are closely related.

By the end of that trip, I had a strong feeling I would be attending Andrews University, but I was scared to say I was going for sure, especially since I hadn’t looked at all my options, specifically PUC. 

A few months later, I traveled to northern California to tour Pacific Union College with my mother. This option intrigued me since they were a lot closer to home. I live in the greater Seattle area, so northern California is a lot closer to me than Michigan, which is wear Andrews University is located.

From the second I got on campus, it was like God was telling me that this wasn’t the place for me. It was pouring rain that day, and while we were provided with umbrellas, we still did a walking tour in the torrential rainfall. My mother and I struggled finding the cafeteria, but to be fair, we are both a little directionally challenged. Not only this, but they told us that food can’t be delivered there, and we had no cell service. On top of it all, the fire alarms went off that evening, which sent us out in the pouring rain again. Ultimately, while the people in the office were very kind, and the school was nice overall, I just didn’t feel like it was the best fit for me. 

Upon returning home, I was pretty set on my decision to go to Andrews University, but I was terrified to actually say it, because that made it so real. Once I said it, there was no going back. I remember my mom talking me and telling me to just say it, because she knew that was what I wanted to do, but I couldn’t. So I left the room, put on my Andrews University sweatshirt and hat, walked back in, and said, “I’m going to Andrews.”

That is the moment that everything changed for me.