January -






















August -

At first, I was kind of bummed when August rolled around, only because I was sort of dreading my last year of high school becoming a reality. However, I photographed so many dogs this month that I honestly can't complain. I had been volunteering at various animal rescues all Summer long, but in August I saw so many dogs go to so many good homes, my heart was so full. I photographed a couple more CSP reps and visited Oconee State Park all before the beginning of senior year. On August 1st, my older brother Isaac moved out. After so long of searching and begging for Isaac to be placed in an assisted living home... a spot opened up, and we helped him move in. What a wild transition that was. I swear the house was so quiet, and taking our first vacation without Isaac was so weird too. Fun times, just different.

 






























November -

So thankful for November and thanksgiving because with so many crazy hectic things happening at school, I missed my family members! Definitely got to spend some much-needed, quality time with my favorite people over break. Football season came to an end, student government hosted an adorable Veterans Day breakfast, we stressed over yearbook deadlines... Oh and I got accepted into the only college I applied to! Well, okay, that happened in October, but there was a lot of of photos for that month so I'll just include that here... USC - Aiken class of 2022!







December -

I still can't get over that it's not December 2017 anymore. Crazy how time flies. Here's my mom's super creative Christmas tree this year, and some of my favorite photos from my latest photo sessions! I was super blessed this past month and got to do a couple senior portrait sessions and my last session of the year being a precious family shoot! Couldn't think of a more perfect way to wrap up 2017!








 

  Merry Christmas, friends! 

What a beautiful day it is to celebrate the birth of Jesus! Wishing you and yours a safe and happy holiday. 

Thanks a ton, Colleen! And thanks everyone else for participating in the Secret Santa exchange! 

Merry Christmas!

As far as course loads go, this year is a dream. I'm a prospective communications major so I wanted to really take this last year and really focus on classes that go along with my interests and well, communications! This year I'm taking AP literature and AP Spanish (prayers, please for Spanish.. I haven't really done much practicing lately) and also as current editor of the yearbook, I can work on more digital and visual communications as well. In addition to those classes, I'm taking Environmental science, Algebra 3, and Personal Finance (which is also taught by my yearbook adviser!). This course load is so much lighter than what I'm used to. Over the Summer I got my government and economic classes out of the way thus freeing my schedule up for -wait for it- MORNING SENIOR STUDY HALLS both a days and b days! What a blessing! 

The light course load is sure to help me out when there's peak seasons in senior portrait bookings. It's also going to be nice when we get closer to crunch time in yearbook, as well as when I get back into applying for scholarships. 

In previous high school years I often get distracted with class work and family things that I would skip on a lot of sporting events that others deem crucial to a high school experience. This year the home games will be my primary focus. I have this love for the reactions of people in the stands, be they parents, friends, teachers, siblings... and I really want to make it my priority to capture those via my camera. I love featuring photos like those in the yearbook, and there's a plan to display some of that type of photo that some fellow photography classmates of mine and I captured last year, around the school. I also have this plan to capture the spirit of my small town in photos throughout this year as well. Basically, my camera will be on my shoulder just about 24/7 and I cannot wait! 

Since freshman year, I've really cultivated some awesome relationships with the teachers at my high school. I've been lucky enough to have really great teachers that I have learned so much from, and many of them I've had for multiple years in a row. It's going to be a little upsetting when I leave for college with all new people and professors that are unfamiliar to me too - don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about college, but I'll definitely miss the teachers that have helped me grow. 

Ah okay as much as I love talking about college, I think I need to stop just because I have an entire year left that I really need to make the most of. College can't start until I graduate high school first! 

I really don't get that nervous before a school year starts. Like even before my freshman year I slept just fine. This year I'd say I'm slightly more nervous for some reason. I actually have no idea why. I assume it's because my school district isn't starting back until Wednesday, AFTER today's eclipse, which is about a week later than we started last year. We've already had our first football game (my school won, but I didn't go because it was an away game), and our big rivalry game takes place this Friday! That just means two pep rallies in a three day week... Sometimes after a slower end to the Summer, jumping straight into a busy school year can be a weird transition for me. Maybe that's hat has me slightly jittery.

I'm finishing this post at 11 pm the night before school starts. Yikes. Here's to jitters and stomach butterflies, and an awesome senior year!

Editing jams - playlist
* make sure you listen to it on shuffle though otherwise you'll have The Beatles and Fitz and The Tantrums back to back to back

Wow. I really should have written this post a few months ago, right after my junior year ended. I've been out of school since June 1st, and it just seems like this Summer has flown by. With getting my older brother moved out and into his new group home (more on that soon), photo shoots upon photo shoots, volunteer work, and taking two classes... the past few months have been nothing but go go go and I haven't really stopped to breathe. Anyways, excuses aside, I'm about to embark on my final year of high school and I have a multitude of feelings about this upcoming year. Before sharing some of those thoughts and feelings (what one is supposed to do on a blog, right? Man, it's been awhile since my last post...) I figured I'd take some time, not only for you fellow high school students, but for myself as well to reflect on my previous junior year of high school. 

First and foremost, I'm most proud of myself for choosing the courses that I did. I remember being very nervous this time last year about my ability to juggle an AP US History course as well as an AP language and composition class with an Honors level Spanish course. Needless to say, I did it. Obviously my priorities were mainly geared towards those more language based courses, and with my honors level photography class and yearbook, my algebra and chemistry classes received a significant less amount of attention than my more difficult (and not gonna lie, more fun) classes. I do regret my lack of attention in those courses, because although I don't think they would have significantly boosted my GPA, I could have paid a lot more attention and studied a lot harder.

AP language and composition was the class that completely confirmed my love for rhetoric. It confirmed my ambition to major in communications, and let me know that I was on the right track. My teacher was very passionate, and I don't think I've ever loved a class' assignments more. It sounds weird, but I swear every assignment in that class had purpose and meaning and I wrote some pretty decent papers if I do say so myself. Also, I've never passed an AP exam with anything but a 3 until this course and AP US.

Taking marketing was also a really positive experience. The teacher was actually experienced in the professional marketing world, and was able to critique our campaigns with criticisms that ultimately allowed me to grow. I really enjoyed the business minded work that we did, and I plan on getting my masters in business administration after my bachelor's degree.

Aside from classes... well sort of, because yearbook was a class... I loved being a part of the creation of the CHS 2016-2017 yearbook. Everyone in the class really contributed and wanted to create the best book we could. And it was awesome! My favorite part was taking pictures of my fellow students - not so much the posed pictures, but during pep rallies I looked through the stands for the perfect candid moments and I did my best to capture those. Chapin students that read my blog? Get ready. WAY more pictures coming this school year! I love seeing students doing more than just learning, but growing at school. By sophomore and junior year students are so much more comfortable in their environment and are all about cheering on their school. And of course the senior class is always so full of energy. Yearbook allows me to capture that energy and preserve it into a physical book that we can all revisit in years to come. I get to be a part of something that tells the story of our small town through the youth. Clearly I can gush about yearbook and why I love it for hours... but you get the point. 

As I reflect on my junior year, I really need to thank all of my class of 2018 Cathleen Slagle Photography representatives. I was very unsure when first launching my rep program about who would even sign up and want to support me and my budding business. But y'all came through - and quickly too! It was such a compliment, and I honestly can't even express how grateful I am. At the time I had only taken maybe 6 people's pictures before in like a full on portrait session set up so I definitely lacked the experience that most photographers have. You guys took a chance on me and believed in me and my work, and I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate it! Also, the prom group that I photographed? Y'all are incredible! I DEFINITELY lacked experience especially in photographing large groups yet everyone was so kind to me and were key in helping me expand my following as you shared the photos. I couldn't have asked for a better first (official) year as a photographer.

In addition to my photography business, I took a photography studio concentrations class where I hoped to learn how to better organize myself and actually see concepts for photographs instead of just opportunity snapping (although, I love random adventures and random photos from random adventures). I learned a lot. I grew a lot.

I mentioned my experience photographing prom, and you can see me in my prom dress here, but I didn't really like the prom itself. I did however have such a great time planning prom, and putting together goody bags, designing the tablescapes, and coming in early to set up prom. That for me was such a better experience than the actual event. I'm not a big event gal I guess... or at least not formal big events. I'm not a big dancer, and a lot of the songs that were on weren't my taste I guess. Now when Handclap by Fitz and the Tantrums came on, I was a happy girl! Anyways, It was a good experience because I got to reconnect with some old friends that I had lost touch with throughout the years. All in all though, planning prom > going to prom. I am glad that I didn't have super high expectations for the night. I got to do what I loved that morning when I went in to help set everything up, and I got to do what I loved that afternoon - eating chick-fil-a and photographing people which helped cancel out the fact that I didn't particularly love the prom itself. I must admit, I did get some pretty peonies and a nice dress out of it though!

The summer before my junior year my family and I adopted 4 dogs, unfortunately the oldest of these passed away in the Spring, but I truly think that our new family members helped me get through my junior year. It's difficult to be in a bad mood at school when you check your phone and see one of your dogs as your background. Although they can be a bit of a distraction when assignments are due, I definitely think from sophomore to junior year, my outlook on life was even more positive after rescuing Jewel, Tygee, Snoop, and Lottie. That's weird to include in a reflection type post... but I honestly think that I'm a better person because of them.

All in all though, this school year I struggled to balance just about everything. School assignments and volunteer work, building my photography business, and spending time with my family. It doesn't seem like much, but organization and time management have never been my strong suits... But y'all know this already from my lack of blog posts.

I think the biggest highlight from my junior year though was finding my passions. In finding the things that I care about and deeply love, I found goals, ambition, and most importantly self confidence. Through my passions I was able to express myself, my true self. The myself that would often hide at school from my peers. I wouldn't say that I came out of
my shell, I would say that I almost totally lost my shell. I don't need it anymore! In doing what I love, I lost my fear... Sophomore year, I thought I was self confident, but I learned quickly that I still needed to love myself a little more.

My junior year was challenging academically, but I really lucked out that it was pretty light socially. I really didn't make too many new friends this past school year, but I was able to reconnect with some old friends that I definitely had lost touch with over the years. Not too many high school students can say that they go through their high school years pretty drama free... I can though for sure! Through focusing on my interests and passions as well as career minded goals, and working on strengthening my relationship with God and growing my faith, I was able to work on myself too and ultimately grow as a person. Although my extended family members cannot believe that my high school experience has nearly drawn to an end and I haven't really dated at all or even considered relationships, I'm really proud of myself for prioritizing my junior year and although it may have been a little lonely, I really grew up and spent my time wisely... Or as wisely as a 16 year old can spend her time.

Excuse my scatterbrained writing and reflections... It's honestly more for me to look back on in the years to come, and see how much I've grown over the years. You know, like that one spot in your house that your mom or dad would get you to put your back to the wall and they'd draw a little mark at your head and measure how tall you are and how much you've grown over the years. It's like that - but the digitally written version. Current/Rising high school juniors - enjoy this year. Find what you love to do and the people you love to do that with (remember that it's okay if that person is yourself) and do that thing. Your junior year is the perfect time to explore your passions and really make yourself proud.

Anyways, that's it for today. HOPEFULLY, more content to come. 

June has come and gone... which is crazy. We are halfway into 2017, you guys.

It's been crazy! Photography, marketing photography, animal photography, and volunteering at a couple animal rescues... Hmm studying for Summer classes, wow. I thought I did more this June.

o n e // Cathleen Slagle Photography

CSP has been slowly hopping into business. I've been doing my best to meet up with each of my Cathleen Slagle Photography senior reps to do their Summer photo session. It's been awesome so far! I've met with 2 this past month, and I've got three on my calendar for next month! I know I'm lagging behind a little bit, but remember, I live in South Carolina and Summer kind of lasts until September. Here's some of my favorite shots from the past month:




 It's been a good month... I can't wait for what I'm going to shoot next month! Oh yeah, and side plug? Seniors in the Columbia, South Carolina area: It's never too early for your senior portrait session.

t w o // Vacation Bible School

 I had the absolute pleasure of photographing my church's Vacation Bible School with the amazing Courtney Dox of Courtney Dox Photography. The kids were beautiful, their spirits and kind hearts were beautiful, and my heart was so overwhelmed with joy! Also, my sweet friend Finley's (precious little girl next to me in the picture below) mom took this picture of me with some of the second graders! So much love for all the amazing volunteers and my awesome church!






t h r e e // studying at the new library

A new library recently opened up in my area. The Richland County Public Library - Ballentine branch is beautiful! I've been there almost every day since it opened earlier this month. It's the perfect place to sit and study... oh yeah! And check out books! Among the books that I have checked out right now - Wildflower by Drew Barrymore, Kevin Hart's latest (which is HILARIOUS so far), Fried Green Tomatoes by Fannie Flagg, The Elephants in My Backyard by Rajiv Surendra, and Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling. I've actually been reading y'all!! And like I mentioned earlier, I've been studying a lot too. I'm taking two Summer classes: Government and Economics so that my senior year I can take Yearbook (fun fact: I'm the editor of my school's yearbook next year!) and AP photo as well as a study hall. Although I may grumble on my instagram story, I'm actually really proud of my decision to take these classes.

 Another thing that I now do with both rescues, is photograph adoptable animals. It's really remarkable the difference a high quality pictures of a dog or cat can make in getting them adopted from a rescue. Instead of including EVEN MORE pictures in this post... you can check out this one on my photography blog for pictures of cute animals!  I also learned this month that I have a mild allergy to cats... Figures because my dad has a pretty severe allergy. Ah well, you learn something new every day!

So writing this post helped me realize how little I actually did this past month... oh well. June left me full of happiness and joy and I'm so excited for July (my birthday month)! I'm looking forward to a nice and quiet 17th birthday at home with my sweet family. Thanks for reading, friends! It was good to prove to myself that I actually can still blog and form sort of complete sentences... 

Happy July! 

You can tell my sister loves me, right?

Oh and here's the rest of my sweet siblings... Shortly after this I scooted right on out in pursuit of some Chick-fil-a and off to the greatest photo session of my life in downtown Columbia. 

Prom itself wasn't really my scene... I'm not a big dancer, and I guess big parties just aren't for me. However, planning prom and ordering decorations and actually decorating the venue was an absolute blast! And honestly, it was a great excuse to buy a pretty dress and some beautiful peonies for myself (shoutout to BiLo for always coming in clutch with the flowers). 

And one last picture... How sweet are these folks? They wanted to make sure they got a picture with me before I scooted on off to Prom! Make sure you check out my Photography Blog to see all the ADORABLE photos from their session... I've seriously never been prouder of a portrait session!

That's all for me you guys... Can't say when I'll be back for another post, but stick around till then! 

 
 

These Uruguayan Chajas have an interesting history...  Originally, they were made with strawberries, but because they do not grow in Uruguay during the majority of the year, the Castellano family makes it with peaches instead. The family is very secretive about the recipe, but there are many recipes available that are inspired by the Castellano original. In other recipes, the pastry is sometimes made with apricots.  The dessert is named for the chaja bird, because a family friend of the Castellanos first described the pastry as “light and soft” and that it reminded them of the bird. It is now one of the most common desserts in Uruguay.

Other than the fact that the dessert is light and soft, it is also really delicious and fairly simple to make. The recipe I had initially attempted was extremely difficult to follow. So in essence, chajas are like a pastry lasagna, and you need to make them yourself ASAP!

Ingredients

For the peaches: 

Recipe 

How's it going, y'all? 

However, If you'll remember back to a previous post... Abigail of Living The Gray Life and I hosted a Blogger Secret Santa during these past few weeks. Well, all the names were chosen, gifts were purchased and sent and opened and now it's time to give a proper thank you shout out to the gal that shopped for me! 

Savannah of Always, S was my Secret Santa! I've always and forever been a huge fan of her blog, and I've been lucky enough to have been following her for a great many of her adventures. She has such a kind heart, and an adventurous spirit and I honestly admire her so much. Her writing style is beautiful as are her photos, and as I look forward into my future college years, I seriously value all of her advice and experience that she shares with studying abroad, transferring, rushing for a sorority etc. Also, she's a fellow Carolina girl (Well, she's North and I'm South but you know it's close enough)! 

So if you remember back to last year, another blogger and I hosted a pretty successful secret santa exchange. Bonus points if you participated! It was fun, and I was super eager to bring it back for this 2016 season. However, if it weren't for Abigail, nothing would have gotten done this year! 

We want YOU to participate! We've had a great number of incredible bloggers always sign up, but I can honestly say in the true spirit of Christmas that the more the merrier! Abigail and I are dying to see some more of our blogging buds sign up too! 

The form to sign up ---> https://t.co/f2CNknffQF

Once you fill out the form, you'll receive an email (most likely from Abigail) with links to an informational packet as well as a spreadsheet with everyone's' wishlists.

You definitely don't want to miss this! 

If you're in the South Carolina/North Carolina/Georgia area.... please consider Cathleen Slagle Photography for any portraits you may need. Check out my website for rates - all my packages are super affordable and overall a great deal... of course I'm a little biased... but see for yourself! 

Happy Weekend y'all! 

Happy Thursday :)

My older brother has pretty severe autism. By severe, I mean it's difficult for him to communicate and he tends to have some aggressive behaviors. Of late, these behaviors have gotten especially worse. As you can see, I had a few personal reasons to take a self defense class.. but I strongly believe that every woman needs to take a self defense class. 

For one thing, it's empowering. Being able to know that you, a woman, have the physical capability to bring a lot of physical pain to a man. It's ridiculous how empowering taking a self defense class is. Because of how often we're seen as weaker than men, it's great to know that you have the skills if and when you need to use them.

You feel instant security. Because the class teaches you what your strengths are and how to play to your strengths, you feel like you've discovered your hidden power. I've never felt so secure in my life. It's incredible.



My younger sister won't be kidnapped. Hearing kidnapping stories breaks my heart. Prior to this weekend, I would picture my younger sister being grabbed while I am preoccupied and not paying attention. Now, I know that my sister (age 10) can get away from a man or woman trying to take her from my family and I.

You learn what to say + what not to say to the attacker, cops, and others in the area at the time. Because, if you do get attacked after taking a self defense class, and you do fight and win over your attacker, you're going to have to explain what you just did. 

Like previously mentioned, the statistics for women's safety are not too great. Odds are pretty terrible actually. Seeing those statistics as young high school students or college students (like most of you lovely readers are) that should be motivation enough to take a self defense class! 

I'm pretty independent. I don't enjoy putting myself and my safety in another's hands (I will definitely admit that I have trust issues). What I'm trying to say is that there's not always people around. There's not always capable people around. Did you know that Walmart and gas station employees are not allowed to leave the inside of the store to assist someone without losing their job as well? And even if you do see other people around, that doesn't mean that they'll help you. 

Taking a self defense class means that I don't have to rely on anyone else for my own personal safety. And can I just tell you, it feels great. It's great to know that I can do it. If I'm attacked, grabbed, choked etc. I know what to do to get away. These are skills that I wish every woman knew. I want to see those numbers drop. I want to live in a place where I and other women can feel safe. Currently, South Carolina deaths are more than twice the national average for women murdered by men. The only way these numbers will drop is if women learn the appropriate skills to protect themselves.



Of course, it does help when you walk in the light, not wear revealing clothes, stay off of your phone when walking, and just being alert to surroundings. But there might be some point where you check your phone, put your kids in the car, are distracted by something else where you aren't as alert to who and what are around you.

I understand that this post is mainly ramblings, but I hope that you see the importance and urgency in what I say. PLEASE look into taking a self defense class. It's essential. If you're heading to college, in high school, the local middle school in my city trains its students, moms, women in general NEED to know how to protect themselves.



Check out:
R.A.D
Model Mugging 
(There are online courses, but think about the accessibility of them. Men are able to access those courses as well and thus may be able to counteract your defense.)
The SASS course at the University of South Carolina

I took both of my classes with my mom through SASS Defense. My younger sister, this past weekend just took a "Back to school" self defense class also through SASS. I'm extremely lucky because the CEO of SASS lives in my small town. However, I encourage you all to be active in your personal safety. GO OUT and find a self defense class in your city. And if there isn't one? Please take your safety and others in your area into consideration and book a class in your area!

Stay safe, ladies!!!