That girl, this girl

Every so often, there's a post on one of the scrapbooking forums I use, saying 'how do I scrap the bad stuff?' And honestly, it's kind of tricky. There is no easy way to make heartbreak/illness/bereavement fit nicely in between pages full of pictures of your cat and the smiley everyday. Mostly, my answer has been - I don't. I've tried scrapbooking about all those things, but pretty paper doesn't make them better.

But life changes. And sometimes pages cover the hard stuff without even meaning to. This page above isn't a new one - it's from 2007. It was one of my favourite pages at the time, and got the most comments in my online gallery. I can remember where I was when the photo was taken, who I was with, what was happening in my life, and how I felt. I was mostly worried about growing my hair and losing weight, and trying not to get too sunburnt. Oh, if only I knew then what I know now...

It was the angle of the photos that inspired me to do a re-take. That, and the fact that it is exactly five years on. Where did the time go? That girl in that first photo feels like a different person. She was so insecure, so uncertain, so superficial. So excited about the future and so determined to make it work.

And in 2012, this girl? The future she is living is not the one she thought she'd have. And it's been a hard road to get here. This girl worries less, loves differently, works harder, sings more and has finally grown her hair, only to keep it tied up all the time. Still the same heart, same soul, same faith in herself. In 2007 that girl didn't need to worry because things were working out ok. This girl knows she doesn't need to worry because whatever happens, she can deal with it.