a chapter of happiness soon to come

In this moment, I felt pure happiness. This picture captures the essence of what it means to be utterly, totally, completely blithe. I felt good that day. I loved my outfit, and I had worn make up. We were wandering around Seattle for 8 hours and there was not a care in any of our minds. Tristan was teaching me how to skip rocks and this is the picture he took after I skipped a rock for the third time. I felt success. A feeling I hadn't felt in a long time. Even though the rock only did a measly one jump, I was victorious. In this moment the picture was taken, all I could think of was how I had done it, after many failures. Now when I see it, I remember how I felt right then. But I still see my faults. My eyes look squinty, my smile is lopsided, and one eye brow is higher than the other. Despite these things, this is one of my favorite pictures of me. I am completely happy. I did not know he would be taking a picture of me when I turned around, which is why I wasn't looking at the camera. This is me when I think nobody is looking. When I am just being me. When I am comfortable with the people I'm with and I think they won't judge me. You may look at the photo and see the faults I pointed out, and even more. I notice the unperfectness of this picture also. But I think that's why it's so special to me. I look pretty in an unperfect way. This is what happiness does to a person. In the picture I am happy and when I see this, I remember the rush of triumph I felt. This picture is more than just a picture to me, it's a mile stone for me. A beginning of a chapter in my life. A chapter of happiness soon to come. The beginning of hope.

love, savannah