“Pain is Temporary….Pride is Forever”

During freshman year, my “Dean of Pledges” gave me and my brothers the best information a man can ever learn….”Pain is Temporary…Pride is Forever!”. 2009 has been full of challenges….people walking out of my life, people running into my life, some setbacks, a few disappointments here and there, the discovery of frienemies, etc etc. Each one of those events took a painful toll, but as a result made me stronger. There were times I felt the rain wouldn’t let up…and I even wanted to give up. My photography started to grow and truly reflect the gift that God has given me, and even some folks couldn’t even appreciate that. They tried discourage me, take my talent for granted, and at one point even defame my name. It shook me for a couple of minutes, but there were hundreds of others who felt slightly different and provided the strength I needed to go on. When the door to one school I invested time and energy into magically closed, another one graciously appeared. When some people decided to take a seat in balcony of my life..others move to the front row to cheer me on. I’m grateful for everyone and every obstacle however (good or bad) … What made me reflect on this quote is because the pain we feel in our life is only a temporary side effect of the event.

The second part of the quote states that pride is forever, and is not to be taken as the pride that makes people arrogant but as the pride in which you accomplished something and you can look back at it and know that it’s something that if people ask you what you have accomplished you would tell them it was that. To me, that’s perseverance.

The quote means in life there will be times when you will be under the pressure and you will be only steps above crumbling under that weight. These situations will put you through great pain to do what you need to do and even though it would be easier to give up, you try even harder and push yourself to go through it. Once you push through, you will look back and say that even though it was hard the end result you have was worth all that work. 2010, I am ready!

“A painted picture is worth a thousand words”

I like this cliché expression because it refers to the idea that complex stories can be described with just a single still image, or that an image may be more influential than a substantial amount of text. It also aptly characterizes the goals of visualization where large amounts of data must be absorbed quickly. So much bigger than photography.

“Girl Next Door”, “Lady of the Evening”, “It Girl”, “Diva”, “Pretty Girl”, and “Prima Donna” are usually descriptions giving to that young woman who stands out above the crowd. Some would even say that these types of women were often regarded as egotistical, unreasonable and irritable, with a rather high opinion of themselves not shared by others. Iman would read something like that and laugh and comment, “people too are funny Moe”. I was online and I googled the term “ jersey girl” to get a feel of what type of girl is a “Jersey Girl” and this funny summary came up:

"I am from NJ. I curse... a lot. I say "yo", and I say it often. I never had school on Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. I sure as hell don't pump my own gas. I know what real pizza tastes like, and I know that a bagel is much more than a f@ckin' roll with a hole in the middle. I judge people by what exit they get off the parkway. I can navigate a circle--with attitude. All good nights must end at a diner--preferably with cheese fries. It's a sub, not a hoagie or, worse yet, a hero, and I wash it down with soda, not pop. Two words... "mother f@cker." I don't go to the beach, I go down the shore. And boardwalk brawls are just a part of the atmosphere. Yes, I drink cawfee. I know that 65mph really means 80. I've always lived within 10 minutes of a mall. When someone cuts me off, they get the horn AND the finger. And they expect it. I am from New Jersey, and damn proud of it."

I thought that was the funniest thing ever. Even though it was a rather harsh statement, I can envision having lunch with Iman and her telling me this. Iman is a model based out of New Jersey who is also another one my close friends. She is definitely like that little sister I never had; the one that didn’t want to hang with the other girls in the neighborhood but wanted to hang in the tree house. She is so multifaceted. She enjoys modeling the most, hanging with her close knit group of friends, and challenging herself to always exceed goals and expectations. Iman took time away from her vacation and did a couple of shoots with me. Before the shoot actually started, we went to a gallery to check out some artwork and one of the most common conversations that Iman and I have always deals with perception versus reality, especially when it relates to the aspect of modeling.

Her personality speaks for itself. Commonly, individuals see Iman as the edgy model, but today we just wanted to “paint” another picture. If I had to label Iman, I would use “All American Girl”. She represents a little every strong female out there. (Art Gallery courtesy of MILAGROS ART)

"I double-dare you to....Dream Big!"

Yesterday I did an awesome shoot for my friend Melissa website for her company (I will post pictures of this shoot later once she has picked the ones she likes). Prior to the shoot, Melissa had a vision of what she wanted for her company and all she was missing was the models. She glanced through my portfolio and came across Rose and fell in love with her look ; she then selected Rose as one of the three models to be the new faces of her company. After the shoot, Rose and I had time to catch on old times and she gave me a lot of personal advice about the future. I am always amazed by Rose ability to overcome obstacles and move forward. She is very strong woman who pulls her strength from within. We also talked about setting a standard for yourself as person and creating your own path. From that conversation, an additional photo shoot was inspired. After I took the pictures, I went online and search for quotes that reminded me our conversation and can share with everyone.

I hope these pictures and words inspire you to dare - reach your goals, be all that you can be! Dare to learn, to be different, to set your goals, to move out of your comfort zone, to be persistent. Dare to be successful.

Dare to be the best you can -
At all times, Dare to be!
Steve Maraboli

If there were ever a time to dare, to make a difference,
to embark on something worth doing, it is now.
Author Unknown, from Dream Big

Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable.
Dr. Joyce Brothers

Failures are made only by those who fail to dare, not by those who dare to fail.
Lester B. Pearson

The writer, when he is also an artist, is someone who admits what others don't dare reveal.”
Elia Kazan

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt

Practice rather than preach. Make of your life an affirmation, defined by your ideals, not the negation of others. Dare to the level of your capability then go beyond to a higher level.
Alexander Haig

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare,
it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.
Seneca

Life is an adventure, dare it. Mother Teresa