Leaving With Memories In Mind

It will soon be 2009, a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning.  I will leave 2008 having learned about love, life, friends, photography, and about happiness.  So lets work our way through them:

Love:

taken with PentaxK200D by Matt Hovey

I constantly work to better understand who I am, how I approach life, and appreciate all that I am fortunate for having.  My journey through life wont be identical to anyone elses so I want to take full advantage of the opportunities I choose to accept.  I don’t expect people to understand or empathize with me because in the end my choices are my own.  2008 is the first full year Ric and I have been together.  We’ve been together since May2007 but in terms of what has happened since Jan 2008 it has been a full year.  We continue to grow and develop together, seperately, and build lives together.

 

Life:

 I live with no regrets, I live for me, I live to be the best I can.  I traveled to Colorado for 2 months and I’m commited to going to Dublin for 4 more from Jan 5th until May 8th.  The experience in Colorado, and the experience leading up to Ireland have informed my actions on how I carry myself as an independent person.  I am much more confident in myself and able to rely on myself for support.  I have a better understanding of my abilities and what I can offer others.  This year has brought a lot of new friends to my life, many of which I hope we will be able to maintain because I learn and owe so much to them.  They brought me support all throughout my coming out, which was a long process finally ending by telling my dad on Thanksgiving.

 

Friends:

To be cliche; Acquaintences will become friends while friends may one day go seperate ways.  It is both uplifting and troublesome to have to sit with that reality.  I don’t believe in fate; I know relationships take work and I always do my best to hold onto the people I want around me, but I also recognize that letting someone go so they can become the person they want to become is an act of love.  A door is rarely closed completely and despite how painful an ending is, compassion always allows embers of the past to grow into something new again.

Photography:

taken with PentaxK200D by Matt Hovey

My photography was nerely non-existant at the beginning of 2008.  I had not touched B&W in months and DSLR’s were too much of an investment for me to consider at that point in time.  Luckily I was accepted to work at High Mountain Institute over the summer and I wanted to document the beautiful scenery I knew was there so I went out and bought my Pentax K200D.  I’ve developed my skills tremendously both with the camera as well as with photoshop.  With a lot of help from friends I have the skills I need to really get me by.  I am still learning a lot and plan on expanding my knowledge while in Dublin.  This photo from my house sumarizes my feelings about my photography this year because it’s a composition of 4 or 5 images and I just love the colors of it all.

Happiness:

It really all you make of it.  You can’t be happy every day, that is a given.  Make the most of every day, or at least try to.  Step outside your comfort zone, try something new.  Personally, I’m not very optimistic and I should take my advice more often and attempt to make the most out of less-than-desireable situations.  I do put myself out there often enough to be open to new experiences, Colorado was one of those times, and Dublin will be the next.  I miss Richard, Paul, Christina, and everyone else at HMI that I got to meet.  They pulled me out of my shell tremendously; I’m looking forward to seeing them again soon.

 

For me New Year’s is not a day of celebration, just a day to rethink how I approach things.  I will make sure I make the most of this year and the experiences I know I have been given.  I hope you like the photos along the way.

Matt Hovey

Tags: Colorado, Friends, Gay, High Mountain Institute, Learning, Living, Love, Nature Photography, Pentax K200D, Photography, Portrait, Ric