Katelyn – A Destination Senior Session

This has been a big year for our family!  We have TWO daughters graduating this year; Mackenzie from San Diego State University and Katelyn from Eastlake High School.  We are so proud of both of them for achieving these amazing milestones in their lives!  I have always loved school, which is probably why I became a teacher.  However, neither of my girls have found a love for education and yet they have managed to accomplish great things in spite of this.  They both have dreams and aspirations away from the educational world and I applaud them for that.  Mackenzie wants to do something in the wedding/party planning world or the organizational realm and Katelyn longs to work with animals in some capacity.

Since this blog entry is about Katelyn, let me expand a little more on her dreams for the future, which are admirable.  Katelyn has ALWAYS loved animals.  So, it comes as no surprise that this would be her choice for an eventual vocation.  She has volunteered for numerous years at the San Diego Zoo where she has been a part of the Zoo Corps.  In this program she has been an advocate and an educator, reaching out to zoo guests in an attempt to enlighten them about the animal world and to hopefully get them to understand the need for conservation.  Once, my mom and stepdad, and I went to the zoo and spied on her while she was working. We were AMAZED at her zeal and her ability to draw in the guests, especially the children.

As a passionate advocate for animal rights and as a very vocal vegan, she dreams of owning an animal rescue center someday where she can save and rehabilitate as many animals as possible, especially those who have been slated for slaughter.  On the road to that goal, she hopes to attend Moorpark College, where they have a phenomenal teaching zoo.  She also wants to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology from Oregon State.

This child is a dreamer.  She is a lover.  She is an artist and an idealist.  It is no secret that she and I are very different individuals in so many ways, but I really believe that God put her in our family to teach us, to help us be more compassionate, and to be humble.  She has so much to offer the world and so much enthusiasm for the things that she loves that I know she will accomplish much!

I am so grateful that we could take a “senior trip” to the East Coast to visit close friends and to take Katelyn’s senior pictures.  We had so much fun with one of her best friends, Emily, and one of my closest friends, Monica.  In Virginia, we went to Fredericksburg and Richmond, where we walked through the historic streets, sat in an adorable coffee shop, walked down to the river, ate cupcakes, and took lots of pictures! In Richmond, we went down Monument Avenue and saw absolutely beautiful homes and trees covered in flowers.  We even found the house where Katelyn James loves to photograph.  I am such a fangirl!

We also went to the stunningly beautiful cities of Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia! These are two places I have always wanted to go and I am so grateful I could be there with my family and friends.  Katelyn was a beautiful model for me as we toured around the towns and saw the sites.  I think my favorite spots to shoot were Rainbow Row, Magnolia Plantation, Forsyth Park, and right in our own Airbnb!  Katelyn is incredibly photogenic and made these beautiful places even more lovely!

Baby girl, you can conquer the world, keep dreaming, and believing the world can be a better place!