It probably wouldn't come as a shock to the lot of you that as well as blogging here almost daily back in high school, I kept a journal that documented the highs and lows of my "dramatic" and often romanticised take on pre and (at then present) teen development. The pages were filled with an often rushed scrawl of exasperated thoughts; bursting to get out and be scribbled onto paper. Often it was highlighting hilarious details of how an innocent punch in the shoulder from a boy in the grade above me meant that he wanted to date (I was 13 when I wrote this mind you) as well as trying to creatively twist the mundane goings of six classes daily at school into something highly emotional and exciting.
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| Today - 22 and holding the world's stinkiest and most resilient doggo in the entire world. He's a sweetie but he has a penchant for eating poo... |
These diaries begun from a humble collection of two, then later expanded into five or six as the years went on. One day when I was visiting Mum at our home on the Sunshine Coast, I went to source said diaries; wanting to peruse through the thoughts of a girl who lived in the same town many years before but was now living a very different life. To my shock, the diaries were gone from the storage box and my youngest sister Tess emerged, gingerly confessing that she had been reading the trivial tales before bed each night, having a good cackle at my misfortune and triumphs as a 13-16 year old. "These should be published someday" - one comment was made. This has stuck with me for a while - adding to my bucket list goal of one day having something published. Even tonight, an hour or so before I begun writing this, Jo and I are laughing hysterically at some of my youtube videos, published way back in the day before it was a possible career choice for people now. There's something very innocent about that Maria in the old photos, videos and writings that's definitely been replaced with a more aware and learned young woman who was forced to grow up quickly in some situations. My love for vintage and op-shopping back in the day begun as a trend and now has developed into an incentive to contribute to environmental sustainability and also save money. My love for writing and theatrics of life has lead me to be able to find humour in difficult situations and has undoubtedly made me a more pleasant person. My love for photography and fashion-y things (as cringe as that sounds) has enabled me to capture photos that I'll be able to treasure forever of my friends, family and other loved ones in a way that I wouldn't have been able to, had I not begun when I was 12.
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| Sweet 16 - I was in year 11 in these photos - 6 years ago. I had an obsession with the golden hour, flower crowns and any movie with Ryan Gosling. |
I guess this post was a bit of a reflection, and also a thank you. A thank you to old Maria for continuing to blog when it was still considered a "weird" hobby". Going through the archives of this website is always a privilege (sometimes extremely cringe), and I'm so glad I got to document so much of my life on here. I'm not much different at all in comparison to the girl in the photos from 2013 and 2014... (aside from the cheeks that reduced in size and the completely different hair colour). I'm still the same girl that will take every clothing item off the hanger until the floor becomes a floordrobe, just to find the perfect outfit. Still the girl that'll put her foot in her mouth in any romantic interaction ever (send your deepest and kindest regards to the boy I'm currently seeing, he's got an endless amount of patience) and still the girl that will break several cups before breakfast due to sheer clumsiness.
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| 2014 - that purple skirt is an opshop find I'll never forget. I wore it to within an inch of its life. 2015 - first year of uni and living out of home. |
