Wow, what a year 2009 has been. Reflecting back, I enjoyed and survived the rollercoaster of amazing and sad things that happened to me; making me stronger emotionally than the year before.

Reflecting back on 2009
* I started my Diploma of Applied Learning, finished it in November and somehow managed to get top marks...
* I made some wonderful new friends during the time of my course, who kept me sane during those studying hours.
* I had work placement in Childcare, Preschool, and a Primaryschool. I managed to get myself a job in Afterschool care in the Primary school. I met some really helpful mentors at that school. I also have another job in Retail- working two jobs can be hard! I need to do this to save for my Education.
* I personally feel that I controlled my heart condition more so this year than any other before.
* My Nanna had a stroke in October, we found her on the floor of her bedroom. This was a heart stopping moment for all of us, but since this, my family are closer to her than ever.
* I neglected my photography a little this year having so much studying going on, but since receiving my Canon 450D, I've been outdoors every day taking photographs. I felt really happy to have my Dad and Mum support my passion!
* Furthermore, the community on deviantART have supported my passion for photography as well. I have made some incredible friends here who I hope I will always keep to my heart.

I have been on incredible journey and now I'm asking you to list some wonderful things that happened to you too.

What does Christmas mean to you?

For me personally, it's about a family reunion. I rarely see my family throughout the year; everyone lives so far away and they're inaccessible for me to visit. Around Christmas time, most of the family meet up at my Grandmother's house and we talk about our year, and for me it's a special time. I don't care about presents or receiving anything, all I want to see is that my family is safe and happy. My Nanna, who had the stroke, will be spending Christmas at our house and we will be looking after her. I really want to see her smile and light up when she sees her little white fluffy dog we're looking after for her.

On another note, I realise that Christmas has so many different meanings to people all over the world. This is why we're culturally diverse, which makes us unique. I am not religious myself, but I am spiritual in the fact that I listen to all different types of celebrations and holidays. I think during this seasonal holiday we should all be more accepting of different celebrations even if we don't share the same beliefs. It is about coming together and celebrating after all.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who left me special Birthday wishes on my userpage earlier this month (and on facebook).

Today I received a package from Stephanie `Oukan, who has been my close friend for over 4 years now. Ever since we first spoke in #devart, she has been my friend and never changed. If anyone knows her personally, they will understand what a special person she is. Thank you for the lovely purse, keyring, and thoughtful card, Steph! You have made my week!

Love Sarah

[link]

Firstly, I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for my "Chandelier" photo on the Ninemsn Nikon Competition- even if I don't win, it's an honour to have my photo in the top 20. It took me two weeks to notice it was on the website because I didn't think it was a good enough photo.
I think there might have been a little confusion though, it's number 10 on the list, you have to scroll next through the lovely photos to get to mine- [link] It isn't the lightning photo, it's of rain drops on a spiderweb... Thank you all for your lovely encouragement and support! It really does mean a lot to me!

In other news, I apologise for taking a couple of days to reply- After I had dinner at a restaurant with my family, I walked out of the restaurant and could not stop vomiting until today. All of your comments have thoroughly cheered me up and I'm feeling a lot better!

I'm very glad you all checked out Polyvore.com aswell, I sincerely hope none of your artwork was stolen and profited out of... I had mine removed, I hope you can do the same!
If you would like to learn more about art theft and how to protect your artwork, I have an old news article that I wrote last year - [link] It might be worth reading!

Awesome news:

Charlie and I are back together, we were on a long break to think about ourselves personally and work out what we want in life. I'm so happy to have him back in my life

My birthday is coming up...on the 7th of December, I'll be 20 yrs old!

My parents have said they want to buy me a new slr camera, which means I can continue my dream anyway! Yay!!!

I'm super excited to start uni next year... I'm relieved college is over with hehe

What is everyone elses good news?! <3

My Feature

Graphics by *aishwaryakhan
CSS by =moonfreak

Hey everyone I really need your help with something that is extremely important to me, but I can't do this alone. I need some community support. As much as I feel guilty in asking, I have never wanted something so badly.

Last month I entered my "Chandelier" photograph into Ninemsn's Nikon 'Make a Scene' competition. I didn't think I'd have a chance, so I never checked it. Today, I looked through my emails and found out that it had made it into Week 1's Top 20. I was absolutely SHOCKED! I didn't realise, however, that you needed to rate/vote the photo.

I would be in your forever debt if you could PLEASE rate it out of 5 stars. I would love you forever. I would win a few things, but the most important one is the Nikon camera. It's not about materialistic items. It's not about having something expensive. It means that I can continue my dream and passion. I love photography so much, I cannot even describe it. Unfortunately, becoming a teacher means I have to concentrate on studying, even though I'd rather be outside taking photographs of what I love. If you voted for me, you would be helping me to continue to pursue my dream.

[link] It is number 10 on Week 1, "Chandelier". Thank you all SO much from the depth of my heart!



On other important notes:
I want everybody to be very aware of art theft that is getting even worse right now. I have recently read some journals which detail a site called Polyvore.com. I have found two of my photos on this website. These people are SELLING my work- making profit out of the work I have put my heart and soul into. I barely sell any of my own work and they're selling mine?!

I am quoting this from `LuneBleu's journal:
"First of all, I advice you to search on polyvore with your nickname or the nickname of other deviant Artists. You'll be amazed with the amount of stolen images. Search also with the word "deviantart" and everything will show up. To individually remove the stolen images, follow the simple procedure I explain next.

The good news are that there's already an ONLINE PETITION to deactivate the entire Polyvore website... why?... Because they profit with our art.

Follow this link to read the very informative News Article *sagittariusgallery wrote about this situation [link] and, follow this link to sign the Online Petition so Polyvore gets deactivated once and for all [link]

Meanwhile, lets keep on reporting the images we recognize and lets keep on spreading the word about this... after finding out that they, in fact profit with our stolen art, made me feel even more angry and disgusted.


HOW DO I GET MY WORK REMOVED FROM POLYVORE?

It's actually quite simple. I've reported my images there and they are already being removed so, they are fast and efficient!!!
1 - Create an account on Polyvore; it's a very fast procedure
2 - Go to your stolen image and then click on "Copyrights"; go down a little bit and, when you see the title "How can I get my images removed from Polyvore?", click on the blue link saying ONLINE FORM
3 - Fill ALL the necessary information, including the mark on the 2 little boxes in the bottom and send the form. They will remove your image in 3 or 4 hours (estimated time)"


Good luck to everyone and thank you so much for your ongoing support. Bless you all!
Love Sarah

Question time:

Who or what has recently inspired you? It could be an artist, someone special in your life, anything at all.

What helps you de-stress or relax?

What motivates you to get out of bed every day?


I hope everyone is keeping well!

Recently a few things have spiraled down for me, but I've been trying my hardest to stay positive with my friends and family around me. I've come to realize now that even when one major horrible thing happens in your life, you take a sharp turn and find at least three other happier things to keep positive about. I was discussing this with my lovely friend `Oukan only yesterday, read her journal if you want to find out what I mean. She told me she was upset about something that happened, but then three other good things happened.
A few friends might know what I'm talking about. They have been trustworthy and kind to me whilst I was very upset. I really appreciate their support, online and off. I just want my friends to know that I respect them more for being there for me when I needed it most. In the past I've had a couple of people try and make me feel worse, but I realise now who are my true friends ... More specifically, I'd like to give a shout out to =CynthiaCynical who is truly a beautiful person inside and out, and always has time to listen. She is a lady definitely worth knowing <3
In other news, I was offered a 2nd job in After school care (at the primary school I'm working at), and I'm teaching kids to dance! I've always loved dancing and physical fitness will be a wonderful distraction...


Lastly, I'm looking for more photographs to fav, I'd love it if you could thumb two or three pieces!