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i have a lot of things to be thankful for. i am thankful for my family, my friends, my home, my education, and my entire life thus far. i'm thankful for VSCO. 

how i got became involved with VSCO is too long of a story to even begin to explain; but, i think what i wanted to point out in this post is how far they've driven me into the art universe. (and for this, i am eternally grateful). 

the relationship that i have with the people at VSCO are ones that i hope will continue for a very long time. they are kind, intelligent, fashion-savvy, honest, and all-around brilliant people. they've opened so many doors for me in the photography world that i would never have the chance to open myself. i'm doing projects with other awesome companies, i'm helping design things, and i'm being introduced to all of these exceptional opportunities. i have no words to express my gratitude other than "thank you." VSCO helped me get here. their message as a company and as a community helped me form my own ideals and morals about life and creating art.

i am honored to be a part of such an inspiring body of creatives. to know that i have the support of all of these people is such an amazing feeling, and i often forget it. believe me when i say i am thankful for VSCO because i really mean it. truly.

have a wonderful, joyful, and extraordinary thanksgiving, everyone.

with love,

izzy + the raels

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if you're an old reader of mine, then you know that i have a brother. his name is Q. i like to tell people we're pretty close, which isn't a lie, but i think as the years go on we'll continue to grow closer. 

two days ago, the 19th of november, my brother Q turned thirteen years old. it's going to be a big year for him. he's going to have to learn to be more independent, to keep himself motivated, and not completely break down from stress (like i do).

he doesn't really know it because i don't tell him ever, but i love my brother a lot. he's a cool kid with a lot of talent, but he's shy when expressing it to people. we don't really fight unless it's over who has to set the table, but other than that we're pretty good siblings. 

in honor of his thirteenth year of life, i made a short little film and/or vlog (because it's not that good) about finding him a gift and celebrating his birthday. i hope you enjoy.

have a wonderful weekend, everyone. 

happy birthday, q.

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it's been awhile since i last made a video. it's been awhile since i last wrote a post. so i decided to make a double-double post and introduce two super cool new things to you guys. 

i recently got a new little point-and-shoot to begin to more easily take videos again (i would rather not carry my DSLR around everywhere i go). 'sunday' is a short test of my new camera and a documentation of my late sunday mornings. i'm still working on my "what am i doing?!!? what do i need to set when i'm manual settings?!?!" skills, so forgive me for the graininess for the low-light shots at the beginning. just like, skip over it or something. yeah, that's better.

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so... in addition to my super cool video, i'm introducing a super cool new post category! snippets. snippets will be a "summary" of what i did and how i felt on a certain day. they're an extension of my moodboards; more or less being an abbreviations of previous posts. i'm introducing snippets so that you can get a more clear insight into my life as a young creative, and how i incorporate art into my every day teenage-school-life. so here it is. my first snippet (denoted by ['{snippet #}]) : 

+ i haven't made a video in a long time, so it feels good to work on my (very much developing) videography skills

+ i'm pretty worried that i wasted my time making this (very much not good) video when i could've written my history paper or studied for my chemistry test 

+ i think it's worth it

+ i think art is worth it? i think relieving stress through creation is worth it?

+ it was valid procrastination, though (i keep telling myself this)

+ it's okay. everything's okay. i'm okay.

+ let the term be over already

have a wonderful sunday evening, everyone.

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