2012.

Well, before I get started on 2012, let's rewind a little.

Last year, at this time, I was about 5 months from graduating high school, and I had NO idea what I wanted to do. I kept going back and forth between a photographer and police officer- yes, you read that right; a police officer. I decided around March that I was going to put off school, for now. There was no use in wasting my time at college and wasting money on tuition that wouldn't help me, since I didn't know what I wanted to do. I had decided around April that law enforcement was something I wanted to do, so I found out what I had to do to get into the Birmingham Police Academy, and I couldn't even apply until I was 19 going on 20. I had some support from family, but from people at school, not so much.

I made it to graduation, even though I felt like the day would never come.

After graduation, I of course drifted away from everyone I talked to on a daily basis, and I'm pretty sure if I saw some people I went to school with today, they wouldn't even say "hey," but I was warned.

I went through football season, without getting tackled, and making some new friends along the way. Hewitt football in general is something I'll never forget, but the 2011 season is the best season so far. I laughed with the guys, and I cried with the guys; they made me apart of the team-which I'm extremely thankful for.

After making a goal list for the first time in my life, I found out I'd be fulfilling one of those goals, going to Miss America 2012 as press!

So why did I mention the whole police story?

Great question.

I've decided to stick to photography, but also find something else that I love. I'm planning to go to college to be an EMT, but for now, I'm staying with photography, just to see how far it'll take me.

This year has been full of up's and down's, but I'm incredibly blessed with all of the new opportunities coming up in my life. I've been blessed with the best support system in the world, that not everyone has. For anyone who's ever supported me, thank you.


So, what are your goals for 2012?

Mine are to enjoy life, travel a lot, photograph everything, be successful, and continue to work with photography and continue to build my portfolio.

Here are some of my favorite memories from 2011!

Thanks to everyone who's supported me this year! :)

An amazing opportunity

I've been blessed with an amazing opportunity and I'm happy to share that I'll be traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2012 Miss America Pageant for The Trussville Tribune. The Trussville Tribune will be covering Courtney Porter, Miss Alabama, during her week at Miss America.

I never thought at 18 years old, I'd be traveling to Las Vegas to photograph an event for a newspaper I love so much! I'm so thrilled for this opportunity and I can't thank Scott Buttram and Gary Lloyd enough for this opportunity with the paper. Also, thank you to the Miss America Organization for making this possible. I'm looking so forward to this journey.

Don't forget to watch for Courtney on ABC on January 14, 2012 from 9pm-11pm from Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino as she competes for the title of Miss America 2012!

Read Courtney's story here.

Vote for Courtney's video here.

"You never know what you have until it's gone." Truth is, you did, you just never thought you'd lose it.

6 years ago today, I lost my grandmother (we called her Ghia). I was 12 when she passed away, but let's rewind one year before that, so 7 years ago. I was 11 years old, sitting in Ghia's living room talking to her while everyone else (sisters and cousins) were outside playing around. I sat and sat, listening to Ghia tell me about this picture. It was a simply beautiful photo of Cape Cod; one of the most beautiful photos I've seen in my life. She proceeded to tell me all about that vacation she took to Cape Cod (she traveled all the time). After we got done talking about the photo she had taken, she showed me a Billy Graham TV Special flyer, with the TV special being titled "The Coming Storm" and on the back of that flyer was a photo. The photo was of Cape Cod, at the exact same angle Ghia had taken the photo in. My exact words, "wow, you're a pro!" Note: she was not a photographer by any means. She just loved to travel and document her travels.

Now, I look at the Billy Graham flyer, and on the photo of Cape Cod (the Billy Graham one) it has the Bible verse "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." -Psalm 46:1.


Where am I going with this? Well, as I look at this tonight, I see a photo that has changed my life. Why did my grandmother choose me, out of 7 grandchildren to talk to? She knew.

A year later, she was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor, a Glioblastoma-which was "The Coming Storm" in my life, that I didn't see coming.

October 4th, I came home from school, just like normal. However, I knew something was wrong, we had a family friend come to the house to help my dad break the news to us. In the next 58 days, I'd spend the night at numerous people's houses and go to school, just to find myself writing things down to remember my grandmother by (I was heavily into poetry when I was in 7th grade). On November 29, 2005 I was checked out of school by another family friend, and I sprinted out of my math class and just took what I had with me. I knew it was time.

We got to my grandmother's house, she was under hospice care by this time. We told her that it was okay, and that she could go be with Jesus, but it turned out it wasn't her time. However, on December 1, 2005 at 5am, my dad woke me and my sisters up (we had spent the night at Ghia's house). The whole family gathered around her and at 5:08am as the hospice nurse handed my mother the Stethoscope, my mom heard my grandmother's last heart beat. As we stood watching the heart monitor turn to 0, we stood in awe as we watched this amazing woman of God, see her Jesus. And as her pained face turned to a smile, we all knew she was happy.

About two weeks later, on the way to a Christmas party at someone's house, my mom handed me something she found at my grandmother's house (they'd been cleaning it out). It was the picture of Cape Cod, and on the back, it read "Give to Anna Malone." That was the only thing in her house that was specified to give to anyone inparticular.

I often find myself asking, why did she talk to me? I always get the same answers...It's a God thing. Thank you, Ghia.

I will admit, I never thought I'd lose my grandmother, but I know she's in a better place, and she's smiling down on my whole family right now. We love and miss you terribly!

Spotlight: Christian DePew

Christian DePew-#7

Senior-Defensive Back

"I'm gonna go all out every single play. You never know if it's gonna be your last."

Q: Who has been your biggest inspiration and why?

A: My brother, Keith DePew, and my cousin, Matt Partridge, because they showed me how to play the right way and they are a huge part of why Hewitt Football is what it has become.

Q: What do you think it is about Hewitt that makes football season such a special time?
A:  I think it's the way we play the game with such enthusiasm and love, along with the atmosphere that the fans bring.

Q: What do you look most forward to during the season?
A:  I look forward to being on the field with my football family and totally trusting each and every one of us to do our job.

Q: What do you do as a hobby or other than football?

A: I play baseball for the school too, but in my spare time I like to read and play video games.

Q: If you could be known for one thing what would it be?

A: I want to be known as someone who gives full effort every play and never backs down.

Q: What's your favorite quote?

A: "Every decision I make in life, I'm gonna make it through the lens of Jesus Christ. I'm gonna put Him out there first, and my own feelings, my own thoughts, my own desires are gonna be second." -Tony Dungy

Q: What motivates you on gameday?
A: The tradition of greatness that those guys who have worn that jersey and that HT on their helmet before me have built up. That's what motivates me.

Q: If you were to have another position on the football team, what would you want it to be?
A: I would want to be a safety so I could come up hard on the run and make all the tackles.

Q: What memory will you never forget from being on this team?

A:  I'll never forget the love we have for each other. I don't care how many state championships these other high school teams have won; they don't have the memories we have because we're a family. I wouldn't play for anyone else.

Q: If you could say one thing to all of the fans, what would it be?

A: Keep doing what you're doing. We love y'all and y'all are a key part of our success. Keep that noise up.


I owe every player a huge 'Thank you'

This season I've been taught a lot by the players on this team. I've been taught to never take one single day or second for granted, because you never know when your last "play" will be, not just on the football field, but in life. I've been taught the value of teamwork and leadership. They've taught me how to live life with an open mind, and to never say never about anything, ever; and that living life with class and dignity are the only things that matter in the end. Knowing what you want, now and in the future; never letting people doubt you, and always believing-whether that be in others or yourself.

I could go on and on, but I don't want to take up too much time with this. I wish I could write something special for each and every player, or at least senior on the team, but that would take up too much of your time, too, so I'll just keep it general.

To the Seniors:

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me feel welcome on the team, even though I'm not a student anymore, you will NEVER know how much that means to me. Thank you for helping me realize how passionate I am about what I do, and for letting me be on the field with you for two years. Please remember this, you have the rest of your life ahead of you, and you all will do great things, but always remember where you came from and who was there with you to support you. Please cherish the memories you've made, and never be afraid to pursue your dreams, no matter how out of reach they may seem. I've had a blast with y'all this year, and I hope we'll run into each other in the future, since I have no idea how often I'll see y'all. Keep your head held high. You'll always be MY BOYS! I love you all!

To everyone else, I'll see you next year! :)

why not?

There will be real fans, there will be "super" fans, there will sometimes feel like there are no fans.


When you feel like there aren't any fans, do a Facebook search of "MUSH" or simply type #MUSH into the search bar on Twitter.

FACT: THERE ARE ALWAYS FANS.

Remember, when the world feels like it's falling down on you, maybe it's just God lifting you up.

Please, NEVER feel like there aren't fans.

You have more fans than you even know! I've had complete strangers tell me how lucky I am to be able to work with such a great group of guys.

Forget what people say, and forget what people post. Do your job, and focus on this.

A great quote from a video Chad Phillips once posted is "Great moments are born from great opportunity, and that's what you have here tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. Tonight, we stay with them, and we shut them down because we can. You were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done; it's over. This is YOUR time, now go out there and take it."

Go get 'em, boys.


WE BELIEVE.

"Some men see things as they were and say 'why?' I see things that never were and say 'why not?'"

WE BELIEVED; YOU ACHIEVED.

"A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed."
-Ansel Adams

I thank God every Friday morning for another day I get to stand on the field with 100+ guys who have such a passion for what they do. They've made me more passionate about what I do.


Thank you all for a wonderful season. I love all of you! MUSH!

Memories

mem·o·ry (mm-r)

n. pl. mem·o·ries

1. The mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience.

2. The act or an instance of remembering; recollection

This definition has no meaning to me, whatsoever. A memory to me is wanting to remember one second, one moment in your life-big or small. Sure we can remember past experiences, but only the important ones become true memories. Everyone does something they want to remember in their life, whether it be traveling the world taking pictures of world news, following a celebrity as paparazzi, or photographing a high school football team in Trussville, AL-no one does something they don't want to remember. I get asked a lot, "what do you want to do?" There are two ways I can take that question; either "what do you want to do with your LIFE?" or "What do you want to do NOW?" When people ask me this question, the answer that comes to my head is always, "I'm doing what I want to do." I may not know EXACTLY what I want to do with my life, but I know that what I'm doing right now, is what I want to be doing. I wouldn't trade these last 21 games I've had with my second family for anything in the world. No amount of fame, money, or exposure can ever take away the MEMORIES I've made with these guys. People always bring up the fact that I've stayed in Trussville, too. Well, if you got to see things the way I do, every Friday night...trust me, you'd be right here too.

Granted, I don't know when my last game will be, and I don't know when the last time I'll step on that field will be, but I don't want to be remembered for having a "press pass" or for just simply being on the sidelines with the most amazing guys ever. I want to be remembered as someone who was passionate about what they do, and made it known. I want to be known as a friend who was there for them, no matter what. I don't want to be a "photographer," and I don't see myself as a photographer, I see myself as the MUSHographer.

I wouldn't trade my extra days on the field for anything!

I love my boys!!!