april 9, 1993 an angel was born

my best friend. 

sophie rose barton. 

happy birthday soph!!

i honestly am so so lucky to have you in my life. 

thank you for always being a part of my life! 

you are the most beautiful person in the world. 

inside and out. 

thank you for being the most amazing example to me and teaching me that life is about being happy and crazy and loud.

about loving each moment and living to the fullest. 

thanks for going after your dreams and teaching me that its okay to dream unrealistically big. 

to fly free.

thanks for being you and for being my best friend.

i hope you had the best birthday ever! 

i cannot wait to see you!! 

stay with me always. 

xoxo 

"will you take a moment promise me this, that you'll stand by me forever but if God forbid fate should step in and force us into a goodbye, if you have children someday when they point to the pictures.. please tell them my name. tell them how the crowds went wild, tell them how i hope they shine. LONG LIVE the walls we crashed through.. i had the time of my life with you" 

-t.swift 

<3 <3 <3 

APRIL 4TH.

DAY OF BIRTH

i didn't used to love birthdays.

all the attention. 

the hype. the letdown. 

...but this year was different. 

i absolutely LOVED my birthday. 

i woke up happy and excited and energetic. 

the entire day continued like that. 

so i decided why not wake up like that everyday! 

granted it's not easy when you have a test later in the day and you've been up all night studying or when you are dreading work later ..

but it's worth it!! 

it's always worth it

for the last 3 days of my 19th year i have woken up with with a smile on my face and thought 

"this is going to be a great day!" 

and guess what? it is.

these last 3 days have been some of the best all year. 

attitude is everything. 

last year one of my best friends wrote me a letter. 

she said

"on birthdays it's not about the actual day. it's about how far you've come." 

This changed my perception.  

this year i decided to look back at the last year of my life and see what i've accomplished and set goals of what i need to improve for my 19th year.

and the last thing that i loved this year was the letters and texts and cards and facebook notifications and emails and tweets.  

it's nice to have a day to remember that you are loved. 

to see that people are thinking about you. 

and that people care. 

it's fun to get those random "happy birthdays" from people you haven't talked to in years. 

to know that people notice the small things you do like smiling. 

birthdays are great. 

a day to reflect.

to rejoice. 

to be thankful. 

to set goals. 

to laugh. 

to share with the ones you love. 

and of course to eat eat eat.

<3 

2/14

...VALENTINES DAY... 

well... i'll be honest again.. not my favorite holiday. 

but there's a lot more to february 14th than simply chocolate & flowers. 

valentines is about LOVE. 

not the romantic/commercial way in which we see it.

no no this day is about something much more. 

this day is about the people who have changed your life.

the people who make you smile over nothing. 

the people who teach you every time you talk to them. 

people who you can talk to for hours and hours and never run out of things to talk about. 

people who you can trust. 

the people who trust you. 

the ones who make you laugh harder than anyone else.

the ones who let you cry on their shoulder. 

the people who you can be completely yourself around.

no guards up. 

the ones who you want to take everywhere because they're so much fun.

the ones who you could spend every second of every day with.

valentines is a day to remember the ones you love that you've lost. 

a day to celebrate the ones you still have. 

a day to hope. 

to hope for a love.

a love that consists of more than flowers and candy. 

the love we come to earth to find. 

the love that will make you feel like you never have before.

so although this day may feel lonely for some. remember that love is real.

LOVE IS LOVELY

no matter who.

everyone is capable of loving. 

so remember to always love.

not just on february 14. 

ALWAYS

xoxo

tbartonphotography

2012!

soo i'm a little late but.. HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

i always think New Years Eve is a little overrated...it's definitely not my favorite night of the year.

but THE NEW YEAR on the other hand... i love!!

the new year.... 

it's a perfect beginning. a new start. a redo.

it's a time to put last year behind and get on with what YOU want. 

to follow YOUR dreams. 

to stop living someone else's life and start living YOURS. 

a time to live better. 

to start something new.

to perfect something old. 

to learn something about yourself.

to laugh a little harder and feel a little deeper. 

to mend broken relationships and start new ones.

to go somewhere unknown.

to visit the regular. 

to learn a little more. 

to hate a little less.

to give a little more.

to take a little less.

really its a time to try a little harder than last year. 

everyone wants a second chance. 

here ya go.. start today.

finish what you didn't last year.

start what you never did.

get rid of what you don't need.

get rid of greed.

live like you you have nothing to lose.

because..... you don't. 

live your life. 

theres no better day to start than today. 

do something you're scared of... it's called flying free

this is your year.. 2012 

xoxo 

christmas must be something more

it's funny how busy you become and how much you forget about what really matters at this time of year. between finals, buying presents, wrapping presents, seeing all my friends from high school, saying bye to other friends, working, and all the other things that come with christmas i tried to find time to do some good.  some of the best things that i did this christmas were nothing huge or extravagant.  i didn't buy anyone a huge gift or didn't change anyones life but i did try to do something good this christmas season. I wrote notes to some of the people who have changed my life and I had never gotten the chance to say thanks. i smiled at a women and her daughter on the side of the road.. while this seems like nothing she seemed very pleased, but more than that- it brightened my day. went to a midnight church service and remembered the true meaning of christmas and I spent time with my family.  these are just a few things that made my christmas time special. i'm glad i challenged myself to get into the christmas spirit this year.. i definitely fell short- goes to show how busy life can get- but regardless of how crazy it is we need to make an effort to love, laugh and serve. thats what christmas is truly about. lets keep the christmas spirit throughout the year. 

xoxo