45 Lessons Life Taught Me

I found these lessons on Facebook and  they were right on time. Today has been such a challenging day, but God is good. So check out this list, written by Regina Brett.  

45 Lessons Life Taught Me by Regina Brett:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short – enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."


Its estimated 93% won't share this. 

I'm in the 7%.

Friends are the family that we choose.

Welcome to AudioGraham



The first installment of my new long term project Audiograham has launched and I want to share it with you. Audiograham, is a collaboration between music and visual art. I photographed 5 music artists in the hip hop and jazz community in Chicago and their music was mixed by DJ Sean Alvarez. 

I will probably write a blog post or two about the process, but in the meantime check it out, download the music and check out the website for more details.  Oh and BTW I made the website myself also on wordpress, a whole other blog post in itself lol.

www.audiograham.com

Let me know what you think. I would love you hear from you

Stephanie


We Are Siamese, If You Please....

I have this song in my head this morning. I really think its a jam and of course a classic!
Enjoy
                                                     The August Break, Day #11, Siamese Cats, "Lady and the Tramp"

Oh, a Filter is a Coming....


The Filter Photo Festival is in September and I'm stoked that I will be in town and able to participate! Its going to be good, I'm excited and nervous at the same time,  but overall I'm looking forward to sharing my new projects with the photo community in Midwest!

I think there is still time to participate and have your work reviewed if your interested. Get the details here

Oh yeah and mark you calendars for Saturday September 28th, thats the night of the portfolio walk, and it would be great for you to come, see the work of fellow photographers, mix, mingle and of course, meet me :)



The Great Escape

 The August Break, Day#7, The Great Escape' © Jeff Evans
Stuart Pilkington is a photo- grapher and art photography curator based in the United Kingdom. has selected my friend Jeff Evans image 'The Great Escape' for the project BOOK • FILM • PAINTING.  You can take a look at the project here and see more of Jeffs work here

Oh... Livebooks *sigh*

If your a photographer you might have heard the buzz around my website provider Livebooks being acquired by a company called Wedding Wire (see the blog post here.) The photo community has gone crazy and Livebook competitors are jumping on Livebooks clients to get our business. However, Livebooks as asked for time, to show us this new transition will be seamless and will work in our favor, so I'm going to honor that request and see what happens...

Keeping my fingers crossed.

I Mustache You a Question...

The August Break, Day#5, Selfie ,I mustache you a question

Jay Z's 'Picasso Baby'

Jay Z's 'Picasso Baby: A Performance Art Film' made its debut last night. I think its interesting to bring this type of platform into the art gallery space. Pretty cool. 



The August Break, Day #4, Jay Z, Picasso Baby

Come to the Roof Darling

The August Break, Day#3, Rooftop View, Fulton Market

2 Quick Lessons, We Can All Learn From Lindsey

The August Break, Day#2, Lindsey- 4th of July Weekend


This is my girl Lindsey, I met her a few years back at our mutual friend Janelles cd release party and we've been hanging out since.  Lindsey works as a social media consultant and also maintains a blog and YouTube channel where she discusses her weight loss journey, style, hair care and purity. Its good stuff! I'm a fan of hers and lucky to call her my homegirl.

I was watching one of her videos this morning when I realized a few things that just wanted to share here. I was inspired and its just two things so here we go:


1. You have to put yourself out there.
Lindsey doesn't mind talking about anything to anyone. You never know how your helping someone from sharing your own experiences. This is the case for business or personal.  Its a good thing to let people know what your up too. I like being relatable, but of course you select how much you want to share. 

2. Establish boundaries for yourself and stick to it.
People say that this is a issue for a lot of creatives but I believe that its true for EVERYONE regardless if you're creative or not, but I HATE DISCIPLINE AND ROUTINE. However, discipline and routine is the foundation for alot of success in peoples lives! As much as I hate waking up at 5:30a to complete art admin work, or workout. I HAVE TO DO IT if Im going to meet my goals. UGH!! 
Okay enough of my crying about that (at least until the next post).  Lindsey is leading a life of purity, and has lost over 100 lbs. I admire that about her simply because it takes discipline and constant self-evaluation and awareness to achieve that type of greatness. I know its not always easy she would tell you that herself, but I strive to be consistent in my personal and business goals everyday, so I find it inspiring, and hearing about the bad times are also helpful to know I'm not the only one. Life is a sturuggle sometimes period, but its all good.

So check her out and keep fighting the good fight!!
Thanks for reading


If I Were a Boy...



The August Break, Day One

I've been working on some images for my boy project. This is a snap I made last night (midnight to be exact) in my apartment doing some makeup tests. *Sigh* It's hard being a guy :) Looking forward to sharing this project with you. You can see the others I've done on my website missgraham.com under the So This One Guy tab. 


Stephanie Graham, Studio Blog. All rights reserved. © Maira Gall.