I am an avid ballroom dancer. With 6 years of dancing experience, I developed a passion for both social and competitive dancing and have competed all across the midwest as well as in the state of Washington. I enjoy ballroom not only because has the sport given me a creative and physical outlet, but it has also given me a medium to meet others and I am able to see myself progress each time I go out and dance. Click here to see a few videos.
What ballroom dancing has taught me goes beyond steps on a dance floor. As president of the University of Michigan's Ballroom Dance Team from 2008-2009, I have learned about the joys (and challenges) of managing a 150+ member organization. Overseeing marketing and advertising, financial planning and book-keeping, and event and lesson planning are few of the many skills that the position allowed me to experience. Presently, I am a volunteer event coordinator for Northwest Dance Network, a non-profit dance organization dedicated to building and strengthening community through dance. I work with live music bands, members, and other volunteers to ensure that social dance parties are run smoothly, enjoyable, and are financially sound. Coincidently, I am quickly finding out that those same skills I learned back in college are easily transferrable to my current position.
I am still a raw amateur photographer. But I want to get better! I understand that great photos cannot be made with a "point and shoot" mentality (though I love my compact camera as well), but I still struggle with that urge every time I pick up my camera. I have a Nikon D80 with my 18-135mm kit lens, but I love my 50mm 1.8D prime. Though it is always frustrating how I often cannot fit everything into my 50mm lens, I appreciate how I am then compelled to creatively think about composition. I appreciate photography because it forces you to appreciate your surroundings that much more. It keeps you on the lookout for those picture-esque moments, just like the split second doggie yawn to the right. You never know when that perfect picture will come along, so keep your eyes peeled.
Photography offers a whole different environment than what my career and ballroom can give. My work is fast-paced. Talking, listening, coordinating, closing sales. Similarly, ballroom moves quickly, too. Learn steps, practice, repeat. But photography offers a chance for a lot of quiet contemplating thinking, which I have come appreciate. Whether I'm thinking about how to frame a subject or pondering life's purposes, photography provides that opportunity to really get in touch with your thoughts.
I'll take pictures of anything and everything. From general wildlife, my pets at home, and even my own family. To the right is a picture of a fallen decayed tree while camping near Russian Lake in Michigan.
One day I decided to make myself more marketable in today's increasingly technology-oriented world. So I borrowed a book from my local library that taught me basic HTML and CSS coding, and I haven't looked back since. Before I knew it, I was creating my own webpage (using only text edit at first). Moments of challenge and frustration were and are abound when coding, but getting your page to look exectly how you want it after hours of troubleshooting produces a feeling like none other. What you see here is a momentary culmination of what I learned and hopefully as my web design skills improve, so will these webpages.
Learning the basics of HTML and CSS led me down a deeper path and has helped me to discover new interests along the way. In an effort to learn more about website optimization and advertising, I began taking advantage of Google's website products (Analytics, Adsense, and AdWords). To learn more about dynamic websites, I'm currently reading about PHP and MySQL. Although, after a quick flip-through of the book, I realized this will probably take quite a while to pick up!
To the right is the book I borrowed. It taught a graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree how to code this website, and so I highly recommend it. An interesting and easy read on a topic that can seem quite dry, bland, and confusing at times (or oftentimes).
