Happy Thursday, everyone!

For this #ThrowbackThursday, I found some old photos from March 2003 – which I can’t even believe were taken more than a decade ago! Dressed up in my school uniform, along with a puffy navy blue jacket … I spent most of my walks home from high school with my good friends, Kate-Lynn and Lisa.

It doesn’t seem that long ago these photos were snapped. But looking back, I’m really glad to have these memories – no matter how bad my hair looked.

Oh, and Kate-Lynn … sorry my hand photobombed you guys.

It’s Throwback Thursdays! And now that we’ve entered autumn – my second favourite season – I’m going to try to share fall or Halloween-related throwback posts every week. To kick it off, I dug up some old photos from All Hallows Eve almost two decades ago. I can hardly believe it’s been that long since I rocked the red Power Rangers costume. I don’t want to brag, but that outfit really intimidated all the other trick-or-treaters.

I’ve really failed at photography themes – or projects – as of recently. But with a new schedule change, I’m actually enjoying my Friday. And with this bit of downtime, I finally had the chance to find a decent photo for Throwback Thursdays. The photo I picked this week is of me, Sheila, and Kate-Lynn – who is actually photobombing us. But I don’t really think there was a term for that back then. You see, this image was snapped back in grade 11 on August 9, 2005 – almost a hundred years ago by technology standards.

Have you ever had a teacher who changed your life? I’ve had the privilege of having many great teachers, all who have no idea how inspiring they were. Perhaps one of the most memorable ones I’ve ever had was Ms. McArthur. She was new to the school when our class had her in grade 5, and I managed to get her again the following year in a spilt grade 5/6 class.

It’s hard to remember everything when you’re so young, but her kindness and her overuse of the happy face on all my assignments has undeniably rubbed off on me. And if somehow she ever reads this, I would say that her impact on me was something like Mrs. Jean Thompson had on Teddy … a reference to a story she read us many years ago; a story I’ve never forgotten. “Thank you … for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.”

Once again, I’ve been a bit absent from the blogging world these past few weeks. First of all, happy April everyone! It seems Old Man Winter is still raging through Ontario, Canada and bringing with him snow and freezing rain. Burrrr! I can tell you, I’ve been fighting some type of cold bug, which has got me sniffling, sneezing, and at times, a bit feverish. Hopefully, I’m rid of this soon.

Anyhow, I thought I would breakaway from my typical posts, and write something a bit more meaningful. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had some really positive experiences. I wanted to say thank you to Krista from Balanced Life Yoga, who called me a few days ago and sent some of the kindest sentiments. I know photography is something I do secondary to broadcasting, but her genuine comments about my work has given me something so profound.

Also, I want to say that hard work does pay off. I’ve spent many years in the field – both photography and journalism – and after hours of tireless and thankless work, I’m starting to realize the value of experiences and more importantly, the amazing relationships I’ve built with people in the community. It’s the little things in life which keep me motived, and are a reminder of the amazing blessings I have been so lucky to receive.

Finally, a post to my mom – my biggest fan. Thank you for your words when I’ve been down. I think today is as good as any to say you’re appreciated.