You Are the Variable

“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” – Napoleon Hill

There are a lot of things in life that we have no control over. Often, those are the things that frustrate us the most. We want to see things change, and they don’t seem to get any better. As an elementary school teacher, there are so many factors that are out of my control. From a student’s attendance to the power going out in the middle of the day, there are so many things that are out of my control. One thing that is in my control is me. While things happening outside of us are frustrating, we still have to manage them. The best way I have found that helps me is by focusing on what’s working. While one thing going wrong might feel like everything is going wrong, the best thing that can help us is focusing on what is going right. As a teacher, it is easy to see what students are not understanding in class. When I turn my attention to what they are understanding and use that as leverage to help them learn something new, it is my opportunity to grow them and me from it. When I focus on what’s working and myself, life is much better.

One of the coolest places I have ever visited is Pike Place Market. It was an amazing space to see, and a lot of fun to walk around. What was even more fun for me was the opportunity to take my camera out and get some great photos. I had my camera in my hand the entire time while we walked around. This was one of those moments I was glad that I had been practicing street photography while in Charlotte. I was able to take those skills and put them to work here at the Pike Place Market. It was an amazing place to see, from random eclectic shops to fun bookstores. Here are a few of the black and white shots I captured while I was there. I used my lens from @retropiacam to capture this photo. I switched these shots to black and white because it brought out the different lighting and details in the market. Color is great, but in this case, color was stealing the show from how amazing this place is.