The Gift of a New Friend

Well, life has returned back to normal, pretty much.  Ty is doing well.  A little stinker, really!  Here's his site again if you want to catch up on him:  www.facebook.com/tysonsawyer.

I took a short break from writing because I was sick of the negativity that was spewing out from me.  I started this blog because people enjoyed my humor in my writings....and because I like to put things in words to figure them out for myself.  I just wanted to step back and pull myself out of the craptastic abyss I was sitting in to get myself back to normal.  So, I think I'm there....kinda.

What shall I discuss today?  And I did say "discuss", not "complain"...  At least I'll try not to anyway...

I know!  I want to talk about my Sophia.  A little tribute to a fantastic person who I am so blessed to have dropped into my life!

In February, a sweet high school senior contacted me in the most polite email I have ever received asking if I would mentor her for her senior project in photography.  Now a little background on the lovely Sophia.  She's an Austrian exchange student who has spent the year in our small town in mid-Michigan.  In Austria, she attends a vocational school where she studies photography.  So my dear had already had 4 years of experience in the subject.  When I got her email and sample photos, I was amazed at how talented she already was and thought, "Why would she need me??"  It's a requirement for the seniors to have a mentor for their projects.  They are supposed to spend at least 20 hours with their mentor learning their craft.  Honestly, I thought I could learn more from her than she from me.  So I kind of look at this as my opportunity, not her's!

Before I go on, how stinkin' beautiful is she??!!  Gorgeous!

Back to this email, she called me "Mrs. Sawyer".  Ha!  Make a girl feel old, why don't yah!  I immediately wrote her back and said never to call me that again or I would beat her.  Also to remember that I am not all formal like that, so she can consider me a friend and not a mentor.  I told her that I was impressed with her portfolio (and slightly envious...ok, more than slightly), and that I was interested in learning from her at the same time.  Little did I know that she was going to become one of my very favorite people in the whole wide world!

We first met in person about a week later.  We did a "trash the dress" shoot with her friend (and one of my favorite track student's from Luke's coaching days), Emily.  Now if you have never heard of this kind of shoot, I'll explain for you.  Traditionally, it's a relaxed portrait shoot of a woman in her wedding dress after the wedding.  It's not uncommon to get in water, dirt, snow, etc. during this kind of shoot.  I wanted to bulk up my portfolio so that I could add this service, so I asked Emily to be my guinea pig wearing some of her old formal dresses from prom, homecoming, and snow ball dances.  She braved the elements like a champ and we had a fantastically successful shoot!


©SnapDragon Photography http://www.snapdragon-photography.com/



©SnapDragon Photography http://www.snapdragon-photography.com/



©SnapDragon Photography http://www.snapdragon-photography.com/

 During this shoot, Sophia definitely realized how informal I am.  I joked around with the girls and related to them.  We laughed and had a really good time together all.    I really enjoyed their company and I knew then that working with Sophia was going to be more fun and games than actual work.

Over the next few months, Sophia accompanied me on several of my photoshoots as my apprentice.  As I had predicted, we learned from each other.  She suggested we try some techniques (my favorite is bouncing my flash off of the white board to make it more even), and I offered my tricks on how to successfully photograph babies and kids.  I gave her help in Photoshop, and she helped tote around my travelling studio equipment and props.  All the while, we chit chatted and laughed and gossiped a little becoming great friends.  Nothing like befriending a teenager to make you feel younger!

As Sophia was finishing up her project over the last month, I was faced with one of the hardest times of my life with Tyson's hospital admissions.  I thought she would be upset with me that I couldn't be there to help with her final shootings and post production in Photoshop.  But here's where I realized she was a true friend.  Just before Tyson's first admission, Sophia and I were chatting about sky-diving as I may be doing it this summer.  She told me a hilarious story about when she went sky-diving and how an older man's face flapped in the wind.  One of the mornings we had Ty in the emergency room, she sent me a picture of herself sky-diving and the message, "Just something to make you smile."  A lot of people don't know what to say or do when someone they know is going through a crisis.  What they don't know is that the very simplest thing is probably one of the best.  She did make me smile, she made me feel loved.

Sophia did an absolutely fantastic job on her senior project despite my lack of presence while she was finishing up.  And like a true mentor, I was beaming with pride, and even cried a little watching her presentation.  I realized while she spoke during her speech that I did help her out even though I didn't think I had much to offer.  I felt more appreciated than I have felt in a long time.  And I gained a new found sense of confidence in my abilities too.


©Sophia Wiegele and Emily Malina  All rights reserved.



©Sophia Wiegele and Emily Malina  All rights reserved.

©Sophia Wiegele and Emily Malina   All rights reserved.

Her project was finished on May 16th, and I felt like I would lose this amazing person from my life.  But I was wrong.  I sent Sophia some flowers and a card expressing my pride in her after she had completed her project.  She left a message on my Facebook wall that concluded with, "Everyone needs a Taylor in their life, and I found mine."  Wow!  Talk about the biggest compliment you can give someone!

She's done with her project, but she's still wanting to work with me and spend time together.  She tells me all the time how much she is going to miss me, and I want to cry every time she says it.  Sophia graduated from high school on Thursday night, and she will return to Austria June 20th.  I know for sure that even when she returns home, she will always be in my life.

Before I finish up, just a couple of other things that make me think of Sophia....shamrock shakes, mismatched socks, hating to be in front of the camera, and a virtual slumber party.  There, hope she smiled with those. :-)