Finding Phoenix {Entry 1}

Did you grow up where you are living now? Did you grow up in one town and move away for college, or a boyfriend, or just to get out of the town you grew up in? Have you ever wished so badly that you lived anywhere but here? While I was born in beautiful Oceanside California, I move to Gilbert Arizona when I was three and haven't lived in any other state since. Of course I've traveled and visited different states and countries, but it's so different getting to know that place where you live.

I grew up in Gilbert which is about 30 minutes outside of Phoenix and about two hours away from Tucson.  I used to think that Gilbert was the only good part of Arizona because it was fairly new, I could find my way around, and it just seemed cleaner and safer. After I started dating Jim he shared his love for adventure and trying new things with me and introduced me to a lot of new places that I had never been and some I had never even heard of. He helped me to appreciate new experiences and taught me how to look for opportunities to learn about other cultures and customs that were thriving within my own city (Phoenix).

If you read my post on the blogger meetup, you might remember that a lot of the events took place in downtown Phoenix. I slowly but surely had been discovering new, fun places in the downtown area, but this even was the kickoff to be being submerged in the Phoenix culture; Arizona may be a relatively new state, but that doesn't mean that it is lacking in richness and depth.

Shortly after the meetup I started my new job with Arizona Department of Education which is right in the heart of downtown. I was so excited! I've been there for all of three weeks now but I couldn't be happier. I have already gotten to try new food, go to new places, and discover small nooks of the city that I never knew were there!

I have lived in Arizona for 22 years and I never took the time to look.

I totally feel like I have been missing out, ignorant, neglectful, lazy and static. I missed out on experiences and memories that I could have been making instead of sleeping in on a Saturday or checking out what was on Netflix. So I made a decision...

I have a challenge for myself: I will post a new picture of Phoenix on the blog via the Instagram app (thus allowing me to take a picture anywhere at any time and not have to rely on having my camera with me) every week, and that way finding new and interesting nouns (person, place or thing) will be on the forefront of my mind. I will have a weekly accountability post to keep me on the lookout so that life doesn't get stale.

The photo above was obviously not one that I took recently in Phoenix, it was done by the Sloan Photographers for our engagement session. It does show a lot of the uniqueness of the city and the art district though and is a great example of hidden culture and what Phoenix looks like when it actually gets some rain! (The photo itself was edited beautifully, however, I wanted to keep with the Instagram theme so I did a horrible thing and changed it, eek!)  Now I'm going to post one of my real, Finding Phoenix photos...

Labels: ADE, Downtown, Finding Phoenix, Jim Bob, Phoenix, Sloan Photographers