Gralyn J. Photography

I'm sore all over from working a job I actually enjoy for once, and not sleeping at night because I'm panicking about life. No reason in particular, just the fact that I have no idea what the heck I'm doing. I'm 20, fresh out of teenage hood and finished my first year of schooling, now beginning to doubt everything I've ever thought about in life. I had a recent set back which took me back to when I was alone and scared. My parents were divorced and not speaking which made it tough for me to get any information to or from them. I found a group I thought would help and they did for a while... Until everything went wrong. I lost friends, connections, and people I thought I could genuinely trust in my life. Why is this affecting me now? I have no idea. It's something that still hasn't left me. It still keeps me up at night- Why would someone do these things? Why did this happen? What could I have done to stop it? It put me back in 16 year old me's s...

I am sitting before work going through Facebook, scrolling like most people do, finding people I went to high school with and some I've never met. Their feeds are full of parties, concerts, friends and just all around fun. I wish I could do this. I wish I could go to work without getting nervous. I wish I could go to take photos without throwing up. I wish I could watch intense movies that make your heart race and you cry your eyes out. I wish I could go to places with loud music. I wish I could get off my butt and take my dog for a walk without feeling sick about leaving the house. I'm tired of anxiety. I don't want to have to keep searching for new medication, or have people tell me it's all in my head. I'm tired of people asking me if I'm ok. I'm tired if people asking me if I "can do this". I'm tired of feeling sick. I'm tired of not going out. I'm tired of limiting my choices. I'm tired of people looking at m...

 I am so excited. I also haven't really been ranting lately, Oops! But oh well, I have been writing since I was really little. Before I could spell I was writing stories and I finally published a book! Then another!     Running From Survival was the third book I ever wrote. My first one was started when I was in Elementary school and I was bullied so badly for wanting to be a writer that I gave up. I put the pencil down and played sports for a while, like people wanted me to. I played lots of soccer, I worked on art, school of course, and worked around the farm. When I reached middle school we started different writing projects, all of which I got full marks in. It re-ignited the passion that I had for writing and I started again. Short stories about haunted summer camps, vampires, and lost creatures from other dimensions caught my friends interests and kept them reading, which kept me writing. One of my friends wanted to use the first book in the sequence, 'Ibli...

    Alright, so today I am going to go through my new job; Highlights, some low lights and the overall experience of being a school photographer.     In the last month I have been traveling to various schools in my area to take school day photos--ages Kindergarten to grade 12. WOW! What an experience it has been.     I am going to try and balance the high and low lights just to keep it nice and even.     The kids are by far my favorite part- depending on the age group. High schools are very tough for me because what I experience in high school was stress, about everything! So going back into the schools was nerve wracking, but dealing with teenagers was even more so. One of my first days on the job I was set up and ready to shoot so I asked my boss about the rule on hats for the day. As usual it was first shot without, and second shot with. So that's how I shot--Until I got to the grade 12's. Yikes. I sat one guy down...

Sometimes you can remedy things on your own, but others you need a little help.      For the last three years I've landed myself in a hospital bed for chest pains so bad I thought I was having a heart attack.                --Just Kidding, it was anxiety-- So I was put back onto the same meds I was on before, they tackled anxiety as well as the depression symptoms that I was showing. After nearly two months of being back on them I was still not sleeping, not eating properly and not able to answer simple questions without crying or getting angry. So I tried a new doctor after I got a new job and was stressing out even more about the little things in life, and stuff that was actually supposed to be stressful (Like hating your new job). Hiking has become so much more regular again, which is nice now that our valley isn't engulfed in wildfire smoke. Photos have taken over my life! I love ...

    Wholly cow I'm published! I can't believe it.     I've been writing since before I could even spell, my journals from school were filled with short stories.     When I got into middle school I wrote for fun, constantly going over my novellas looking for things to be improved. My friend would take the books and read them over and over again, constantly waiting for me to come out with new and exciting adventures. She will be the first one with a copy.     The book I've published (finally) was in the works for the past six years and has been read over by a number of different friends and editors, I'm hoping you all like it... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520575394?ref_=pe_870760_150889320 Photo provided by gralynjphotos.wix.com/official

I can honestly say I've never been so exhausted in my life. After being on medication for nearly a year I felt that I was in a strong enough place to stop and be ok on my own. I went three months without my medication before I began feeling exhausted and run down all the time. I watched TV until 12 sometimes 2 in the morning to escape my thoughts, I didn't sleep when I tried and studying was a chore. After my week of exams I started working full time hours again, which at my job was easy to do because my coworkers (boss included) were so damn wonderful. But my sleep continued to be patchy and out of sorts, forcing me back into the doctors office. I asked about my sleep and the all around patterns I had been seeing in myself, landing myself back on my original medication and dosage. After an array of flu symptoms and a numb face, I went to see a different Dr because mine wasn't in the office. After pokes and prodes it was determined that I hadn't had a stoke. Yay? Bu...

Ok. I've been seeing a ton of animal rights groups on Facebook and instagram fighting for... well fighting against anything and everything to do with animals. According to them we aren't even allowed to have pets. I'm going to start with my dog... Linden is spoiled. To the point that I'm pretty sure she doesn't know she's a dog. She's my baby. She is actually treated better than some of the people in todays world. The closest thing to animal abuse that she has experianced is when I put a rain jacket on her. She honestly doesn't like the rain, and doesn't seem to mind her pink paw print coat. Now to my farm girls... My chickens; My girls, and of course my boys are treated awesome. I can't exaggerate the amount of times I've heard people say "Go Vegan" because there is no such thing as a "humane egg". YES THERE IS. What people see are the big corporations run by mass distributors who genetically modify their anim...

Today was my pup Linden's fourth birthday. After a large amount of contemplation I decided to make her a cake, a dog cake.  Wanted something that she would like, but also wouldn't make her sick. I found a recipe online and tweaked it; Ingredients 1 egg 3 Tablespoons peanut butter 1/2 apple, finely chopped 1 teaspoon baking powder Instructions Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients together without crushing the apple too much. Grease a muffin tin or cake tin (size of your choice and dog size). Bake for 18 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean (be careful to not take out any apple pieces). Let cool for a 3-5 minutes in the pan, and then slide the cake onto a plate/cooling rack for 5 more minutes before serving to your dog. You may frost with extra peanut butter, if desired (it's greatly appreciated by your pup, or mine anyways). Well as soon as I busted out the peanut butter Linden started hovering around the kitchen. I made...

For anyone who knows me, photography is my wellbeing. It's what keeps me grounded, puts me back on track when I feel like I'm going crazy and teaches me a ton of patience. I'm slowly learning to laugh at little things and smile when it rains. Today I took Linden (my pup) out for our daily gander and up to one of our favourite spots. After Lou ran her sillies out she was ready to pose for me. At the base of the wall there are steps up so she run back and forth on the concrete until I stopped her. This one was a rare beauty. Of the 257 photos that I took today I chose around 6 to share on social media. My favourite being the compass with Linden's new tag. Linden is so patient with me! I took about 12 of these before I got the lighting right on the compass. She tried to sit at one point which got all sorts of weird noises from me. My compass is like my "flat stanley", it comes everywhere with me so if it every broke I would be 'Lost'. *I like to ...

Today was supposed to be my two month mark until I left for Europe, but due to recent  events including the terror attacks that took place in London, I will be postponing for a year or two. The funny thing is everyone said "Oh I knew the travel bug would hit you." But it really didn't.  I wanted the photos, that's all I really thought about was coming home and looking at the buildings and the canals and so on. Now that my trip is diverted I really could care less if I'm going or not. I'm really just not someone who needs to travel.      Other than that I will be throwing myself into my photography after my first year of school is completed. In April of last year I volunteered to take photos for a local organization that's main goal is to spread awareness for mental health and end the stigma behind it. Being an anxiety ridden person myself I felt a strong pull towards the cause even though the social anxiety around the thought of going could've kille...

For my Brother... Who I could never explain this feeling to, I hope this helps, and I hope you never feel this way.     Three months ago I struggled with migraines, chest pains and paranoia. I couldn't explain my feelings and everything hurt. I kept my anxiety/depression off of social media for years because it wasn't real to me. It was all in my head and people who had these things were weird and seeking attention.  Now that I am finally getting a handle on it I think it's time to share what it's actually about. (This leaves out bullying (School and religious groups), and work factors that contributed) When I was 11 I started to get chest pains, I had insomnia and random panic attacks about my family being killed or not coming back to my brother and I. Anxiety had worked it's way into my life in a very real way and was taking over my thoughts and my life. I stopped going to birthdays, social events and some days even school. For a few years after movin...