Year Four


Quatre années have passed since May 19, 2012… the day fourteen-year-old Abby settled herself upon her mother’s worn, black office chair and decided to create a ‘lil space all of her own on the interwebs. Goodness, how much as changed since then. Lace & Lilacs has evolved tremendously over the past four years, as have my photography and writing skills and abilities. While in the eighth grade, I had absolutely no intention of pursuing photography as a serious career. I did not even own a proper camera at the time. Then, I assumed I would spend the following four years of my life attending high school in Orange County, California. I would apply to various colleges during my senior year, and was seriously considering Seattle and NYC as potential cities to invest my future in. Straight-‘A’s, an AP/Honors heavy course-load, and evenings devoted to memorizing nonsense for my academic classes were all far-too important to me. But it was the adolescence I had always envisioned for myself… though I knew I wanted a creative life and far more than high school and an academic degree (I was contemplating either english or history) could offer me… I didn’t quite know how to go about obtaining my dreams.

But things have a way of falling into place, non? Because one personal matter that resulted in my initially involuntary departure from school eventually led to my very voluntary dropping out, earning a certificate of high school proficiency, applying to college during what should have been my junior year, and using said gap year to travel and continue building my photography portfolio. So, here I am today. Sitting upon my dusty pink sheets in Paris, France, having just completed my first year of university studying for a BFA in photography, taking a brief pause from studying French (I’ll be fluent a year from now, whilst composing my ‘Year Five’ post, God-willing) to string together a few paragraphs of coherent words celebrating the fourth birthday of this itty-bitty blog of mine.

Lace & Lilacs has been a figurative safe-haven of mine for years now. Through the ups and downs, the moments, both wretched and beautiful, the friendships I have made and lost, and all the memories, from the first day of high school to moving out of my parents’ home to attend college in a foreign country. I would not be where I am today without my blog. And so I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I had to establish a world of my own the internet 1,461 days ago. Here’s to all the years to come. I adore you for taking the time to join me on my insignificant little journey. I just love you. Really, truly.

Moments to Remember

Year Four Statistics

  • Pinterest: 125k Followers
  • Twitter: 374 Followers
  • Facebook: 123 Likes
  • Instagram: 1051 Followers
  • Steller: 19.4k Followers

Merci mille fois for reading. Thank you. A thousand times.

Abby

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16 comments on “Year Four”

  1. Happy 4th Anniversary Abby! What a year you have had, and a way you have come ever since the very beginning. It has been quite a journey for you and it has been more than a pleasure to follow your adventures and also have the privilege to be a part of them too. They way you seamlessly picked yourself up and moved to the other side of the world to follow your dreams absolutely astounds me!

    Congratulations on all you have done, you should be so proud!

    xxx

    • Oh, you are just the kindest, Lucy-Claire! I am so, so happy that I met you over the course of my journey and am so excited for all the years we have as blog-friends and creatives ahead of us. Sending so much love! xx

  2. HAPPY 4 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!

    It’s been a beautiful, amazing 4 years!

  3. Cheers to 4 years! Beautiful photos, dear! xoxo

  4. Happy blogiversary! Your nontraditional route is inspiring and also completely practical 😀 Do what you love and love what you do <3 -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s

  5. Happy Anniversary! Your blog posts and photos are soo lovely and inspiring. Xx

  6. Congrats on these great 4 years. I could relate to you for the following reasons: I did what you did in high school. I also attended an Orange County, California high school but dropped out of the brick and mortar school to enroll myself in an independent studies program. Right after, I wanted to discover many things and I lived in a very bizarre world that is Portland, Oregon. I came back 5 years ago and have been pursuing my college degree on/off since.

    Keep working on your goals and best wishes! Hopefully, you get to write a full blog in French in the near future. I would love to read that. Bonne journée.

    Ron

    • Merci mille fois, Ron!

      Portland must have been incredible… I’ve been just once but hardly explored the city at all. I’m sure you had an amazing experience, especially coming form Orange County!

      Thank you again… that blog post in French will come someday… I’m improving everyday, though it will take a bit more effort while I’m in CA this month. 🙂

  7. Happy 4th year anniversary to my favourite blog and blogger!! 🙂

  8. Oh my!! This is so exciting! I’ve enjoyed reading and looking at the amazing photos you take for quite some time now (even before we knew each other). This is such a huge accomplishment. It’s truly crazy to look back and see how much has changed in four years. I’m so happy that you found a passion in photography and decided to pursue it as a career. That’s a brave thing to do (and definitely the right thing for you and all of your creativity). I am really thankful to have a friend like you and I look forward to many more years of following your blog! xx

    • Ohhh thank you x 10000, Laura! I am so glad I met you… your photographs, illustrations, and the playlists you share always brighten my day. Sending so much love – I can’t wait to follow along on your journey for yearsss to come, as well! xoxo