Tule Canyon Mesa at Sunset

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

I was a teenager before I found out who Dr. Livingstone was and the story behind him and Stanley.  But I bet I heard that line 1000 times before then.  Any time anyone in my family would introduce ourselves and our last name someone would make that quip.

By the time I was 10 I had decided I was going to be a Doctor.  Not a medical doctor, I knew Dr. Livingstone wasn't a medical Doctor but a scientist.  I wanted my Ph.D.  

I also wanted to be a pilot.  I loved planes and my uncle regaled me with stories of flight school from WWII.  I chased both careers.  I still love airplanes, I still love sociology (what I wanted my Ph.D. in) but I am neither a pilot or Doctor.  But I do love what I do...fine art photography. 

Things don't always go the way you plan but they can end up good regardless.

Mesa in Tule Canyon at night under a Thunderstorm.

I can't think of a single person I know, who is where they expected to be in 2020.   I can't think of anyone I know doing what they thought they would be doing.  We are in historical times.  I think the reality is no one really knows how serious things are.  It seems there are so many "experts" and so many opinions.  One thing is for sure, things are rapidly changing and few things will stay the same.

Mesa in Tule Canyon with 4 hours of Star Trails.

When I was in my 20's and in college wanting to get a P.h.D. if you would have told me that one day I would be an artist, I would have probably laughed at you.  But then again at that point in time, I could not imagine life without my parents.  Both have passed away. 

I am not sure if you would have told me a tenth of what  I have gone through that I would have believed it.  A lot of it was so difficult I didn't think I would make it but here I am.  And I am enjoying what I do immensely.

I saw a social media post that said you have survived 100% of the hard things you have gone through.

Mesa in Tule Canyon at sunrise. 

YOU HAVE SURVIVED ALL of the hard stuff in your life.  Take heart in that.  Will things be different?  yep, but take heart with all you have been through.  Just like this mesa, blistering summer, lightning bolts, snow, floods, etc... it's still here.