Friday, December 11, 2015

One Last Exam

Well it's finally here! Tomorrow is my very last exam through my academic college! I am so excited finally have reached this milestone in my life. It's hard though because I am not one of those people who has a super stable and realistic plan for what to do next. My friends seem to either be going to graduate schools or know exactly what field or position they will be working in, where as I am a little different. Sure I might seek and office or marketing job and I might be totally happy with that, but the dreamer in me still wants to work on making my Etsy shop and (eventually) my photography grow into a career. I am planning to finish my photography certification now that I will have more time to devote, and really see where it can take me. I know it's a more risky path and I feel worried that I will be judged by it all the time. My friends are very supportive of it but I often doubt myself.

This is one of the most exciting times in my life, but also one of the most scary. At every other transition phase I had a safety net of school. The transition from high school to college was nerve-wracking but i knew I still had four years of a plan. It's different now, I graduate next week and it feels kind of like I am finally jumping without a safety net. The possibilities are very exciting but the unknown is a little stressful.

I want to thank all of my family and friends over their support through all these years in school. It was a wonderful experience and I can't believe it is coming to a close. My education won't stop here though, I will be working on the photography class, possibly working on my adobe certifications, and chasing dreams. Regardless on if this photography and design business is something I pursue right away or five years down the line, or if it remains just a hobby forever  I'm still going to work on bettering myself and enjoying it!

It will be very interesting to see what my post in six months to a year from now say...who knows where I'll be!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Graduation Incoming...

So it wasn't easy but it looks like I will be able to graduate in December after all. This semester will probably be tough, but I know it will be worth it to be able to graduate sooner. I am a bit worried about it making it really hard to work on my photography classes, but I'm just going to have to accept that I may progress at NYIP a little slower than planned but I will have plenty of time left after graduation to finish up as well. I am going to do my best to stay driven this semester and to make time to work on my photography lessons when possible.
I am so blessed to have the support of my family, my boyfriend, and my awesome friends, I am so excited to see what the future holds for me. It feels like I'm looking down a road to the real world that is getting shorter and shorter. The excitement is really building, I know the next few years are going to be filled with some very memorable milestones and I am  going to work hard now to make all those things that much sweeter!

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Kacy Haydel, Certified Photographer?

I did it, I have officially enrolled with New York Institute of Photography for an online photograph program! I haven't gotten to do much work towards my first photo project yet but so far I am really enjoying the reading material and I am really excited to start applying what I am learning. (Note to self: stop being lazy and get out and shoot, shoot shoot!) I love the photo below but I can't wait to get some nice backdrops to use on my backdrop stand!



I start back at college (not NYIP, my academic college) for the spring semester in a couple days and am beyond stressed about it. I just found out that getting my degree in mass communications will take longer than I thought but if I do an individualized study plan I can likley graduate in December.

This is how I realized that I'd rather graduate early and follow my dream of opening my own design/photography studio than get my journalism degree. Tomorrow I find out if I can indeed graduate this December, I think if I find out otherwise I will be crushed but I am going to try to find the silver lining in whatever the outcome. Although this change will be a new challenge and people may judge me for making yet another tweak to my degree, I'm continuing to learn about myself and grow.

I hope to someday have a home studio complete with a nice office area with my mac, my wacom tablet for easier photoshop, and a nice printer so that I can start printing invitations and photos instead of doing digital only. I dream about having a cute little building in my backyard to give me the perfect separation from work and home life. I used to think of this as only a fantasy, something I would only do if I couldn't find a "real" career, but this twist of events has really made me think. I've decided I need to chase this dream. Sure, I may need to get a steady job in order to save up and make this studio possible but it will all be worth it to be making a living by doing something I love.

Here's an invitation I designs, available at my etsy shop along with a few of my favorite shots from this cute little man's birthday party. I want to thank his awesome mommy and my good friend for trusting me to design his invitations. It pushed me to create one of my favorite designs yet!