Lots of BIG NEWS!

Okay, I know I was more absent in May than usual, but I promise I had a good reason: I was making big, life-rocking plans that I finally get to make public!

Recognize this view?

 

In case you don't, that's Florence, Italy. And....guess what? I'm moving there in September!! AHHHHH!!! I've seriously been internally (and sometimes externally) screaming about this for almost 2 months now! I'm so unbelievably excited. So why Florence you ask? Well, let me tell you the story. 

As you may or may not know, I've been working as a figure model for the last year and a half. I started working at BYU and then started working for a private studio as well last February. (Just to clarify, a figure model is one that poses for anywhere from 30 seconds to 20 minutes at a time for a class of art students who are learning the fundamentals of figure drawing.) It has been one of the most fulfilling, horizon-expanding experiences of my life. I love getting to be part of the art, especially since my drawing skills are less-than-even-proficient, and I love watching the students grow and progress in their skill, knowing that I'm part of what facilitated it. 

So, last November, I was talking to one of my artist friends and upon finding out that I was a model, he said, "I have a friend who modeled in Italy for a year and a half, you should talk to her!" And I thought, "Italy? Modeling? SIGN ME UP!!" So I sent his friend, Vanessa, a message, but I never heard back from her. 

Fast forward to the beginning of this April. I was dating Chancy, and he up and decided that he was moving to Panama. Once he bought the ticket, he had the bug of making other people do crazy, awesome things like him, so he asked me what I really wanted, where I would really like to be. I was originally planning to move to California, but now my options were wide open and I knew I had the freedom to do whatever I felt like, gosh dang it! So I mulled it over for a little bit and then it hit me like a brick: ITALY! Duh. I sent Vanessa another message, telling her I was seriously looking at moving to Italy and wanted to know about her experience working as a model there. She called me the next day and we had a blast talking about how amazing Italy is and what a life changing experience it was for her, and would hopefully be for me. She gave me all the information I needed to get in contact with the 3 art academies in Florence, and I was set on the path. 

Fast forward to now. I got an amazing job in Salt Lake City that's paying me enough that I can save up over these 3 months of summer and have enough at the end to cross the pond and have myself an adventure! Needless to say, it's been a whirlwind of a month, but I couldn't be more thankful or more excited about the changes and sacrifices. It's such a gratifying feeling to chase a dream and actually have it within your sights to have it come true. And of course, there is so much more to the story underneath, all the divinely guided moments and encounters that all string together to make the path that led me here. I feel so blessed to be able to see even a few of those experiences as more than coincidence.

What are your deepest desires, the dreams you thought impossible? Really think about it. They might not be as far out of reach as you think....:) Get happening!