So! Time to reflect! Not over the past week… but over many things! But first… the last week.
So last week was insanely cool! The product and advertising was pretty much completed and all the hard work is really paying off for my new job.. so yeah, still extremely happy about my recent career change!
That’s pretty much it for last week.. ha, no kidding… it’s been full on! So we shall move onto the subject mentioned above.
Reflections…
Now, the term “reflection” can mean more than one thing depending on how it’s used. For example, someone can have a reflection in a shiny surface.. that’s the normal definition of reflection but this time I’m talking about how you reflect in other people’s eyes and more importantly… reflecting upon ourselves. I’ll explain.
So I recently installed the new Photos for Mac OS X and considering that I now have two hard drives in my MacBook Pro, I decided it was time to reconnect with my memories from many years ago!! It’s amazing!! It’s almost like it wasn’t me. I mean, we’ve all changed SO much in the time that we have been around, but it’s really something when you can physically look back and see how MUCH you have changed.
So, lets break this down… This was me on 23 September 2005. ZERO fashion sense, but on the plus side.. I had pretty friends!
I also used to be one HELL of a PC geek.. To me.. the more wires I had.. the more COOL it was and if my PC could light an entire neighbourhood then I have a BEAST of a PC and that was badass.. needless to say, I’m quite the opposite now.
I’m going to fast forward a lot because this post has a whole bunch of stuff that I want to cover.. and I don’t really want to split it into two posts.
This is possibly the FIRST edit that I ever done… 10 September 2006! Evidently very talented… but for what it’s worth, it’s not a bad edit considering I have NO memory of what software I used.. I think it was something like Ulead Photo Studio or something. (if that even exists).
In fact, considering these photos were taken in 2006, I can see that my passion for photography started a lot sooner than I originally thought!
So.. NOW we are talking!! These were the days!! I still have a passion for empty buildings but this was “The Keepers .INC” and what we did was literally transform this old warehouse into an amazing place to hang out.. sadly, some bastard practically burned the place to the ground.. but we had a great time here.. SO many good memories.. I have VIDEO on a VHS (yes VHS) of us actually doing this place up.. but as mentioned, it was lost in a fire.
It’s such a shame to have lost this place because honestly, it kept us off the streets and for what it was worth.. we were doing NO harm in here.. if anything, we were doing good.
Seriously, I have some absolutely incredible memories of this place and I’m sure a few of those from back in Kingswood will also reflect with big smiles on their faces at some of the times that we shared in these crazy places haha!
So, fast forward a bit more…
2007! College! So, this was my first experience with Mac and this was my entry to studying Media. I have some seriously great memories of these times too.. met some great people, had some huge laughs!
This was the first flyer that I designed using Photoshop! I also cannot believe that I STILL have the original PSD file and this was created using Photoshop CS!!
That’s awesome! Oh and as I was casually browsing through.. I actually managed to find the photo that I took which was my entry point to photography if you remember I mentioned this back in this post!
The only editing on this photo was a little bit of de saturation.. but somebody actually purchased this photo from me.. and that’s what got me started in photography.. as I realised not just did I love taking photos.. but I can actually get paid AND people enjoy looking at my work!
So, as you can see.. my apartment changed a LOT since I moved there.. I can honestly say that I hated this place.. but my memories were so great! This last panoramic photo was taking in 2013, the same year I moved to Romania.
I’m going to fast forward to 2008/9 when I started working for Apple.
It was at during 2008 and 2009 that until now, I consider I lived my absolute best years!
No just did I work for a great company.. I had an absolutely beautiful girlfriend, many friends and so much happiness that when I look back.. all I want to do is rewind and re-live that entire period.. there were of course ups and downs, but honestly, it was during these days that I REALLY became.. ME!
Now, you can excuse the hair cut.. we’ve all had times in our lives that we have gone through change.. some just went through more than others.. but honestly, I had no problem with this.. I quite like the idea of growing hair long again.. but it’s WAY too much maintenance and I cannot be doing with that. ha!
It was during this time that I noticed a huge change in myself.. Firstly, I split up with the girlfriend that I loved so much due to what I feel was excess jealousy.. but when I look back, really I was just being a bit of a dick.
I just wanted to do what I wanted to do.. didn’t really put her first and sometimes only really thought of myself.. so I broke up with her so that I could focus on my band.. which lasted only a few months (sure it was an epic time).. but thinking about it.. it was really not worth throwing away over a year of absolutely incredible memories.. but reflecting on the situation, it was better for both of us as I managed to shape myself into the “newer” me.. and she continued her studies and from what I know, is doing very well!!
In August 2011, I was introduced to a very lovely friend named Susie Stone. Susie lived in Clearwater, Florida, USA, and was probably one of the sweetest girls I had ever met. I have this screen shot from a Skype conversation that we had the first time we started speaking and yeah.. she was random, funny and had a heart of gold.
This is somewhat of a bittersweet reflection because tragically, last year she was killed in a road traffic accident.
This actually made news headlines in the UK! As you can see by visiting this Daily Mail article but honestly, I was devastated.. Such a wonderful person was taken and I felt so much guilt because we would always say, “we must Skype soon” or “We definitely need to catch up ASAP”.. but never got around to it.. and now it’s too late.
It was this even that REALLY snapped me out of my self-centred mindset and made me realise that no matter what you are doing and who you are with… we are on this planet for a very brief period.. and during this period, we should do everything possible to make people feel great about themselves.. and so that is what I started to do.
Take a second out of your day to simply return the favour
So, I am an absolute firm believer of returning favours.. If someone takes a moment to do something for you, you should take a moment to do something in return.. it’s not about Karma, it’s simply about respect. I have had many “wake up calls” that have caused me to reflect on who I am or who people perceive that I am.. and it took something devastating for me to finally act on my wishes..
Live and make others feel stronger and happier around you
This is pretty much how I want to live my life.. I want to make people feel valued, wanted and stronger by knowing me.. but I keep running into roadblocks.. and this just seems to be because people haven’t had their wake up calls.. What I’m trying to do is get you to SEE what’s already there before something tragic has to happen for you to open your eyes!