Corey and Arley {portraits}

Meet Corey and Arley!

Corey and Arley met at Furman freshman year and have been together ever since.  They are both very dedicated students, active in their greek life, and very loved by their friends.  After graduation they're headed to UVA law school and Washington D.C. to take on the world!

 I was so glad I was able to shoot them in the spring time, with so much sun and color!

I was so excited they wanted to shoot on this cute bridge, and we got some really nice shots on it!

(they're always laughing)

After a sunny walk around the lake, we moved to the belltower to get some classic Furman shots.

(Seriously, how cute!)

Check out Arley's killer shoes...

I had such a blast with you two, thank you so much for choosing me to capture your special relationship! 

The Importance of Less-Than-Perfect Relationships

"Aha!" moments are wonderful windows of clarity, and I was fortunate enough to have one today.  Killing time on Pinterest, I came across a quote I'd heard a thousand times and promptly written off:

  "If a relationship doesn't make you a better person, it's the wrong one."

Before when I heard this quote, my mind immediately jumped to partner and love relationships.  It obviously still applies; it's not okay to be with someone who makes you a lesser or more unhappy version of yourself.  But because I am lucky not to have a difficult relationship with my partner, today I thought of this quote in light of my other relationships.  

At first, I considered a few people who I have a less-than-perfect relationship with.  The easiest choice would be to leave these relationships in the past, moving on to a chapter with only positive influences.  But that's not life.  Life isn't a one-way roller coaster with increasing altitude, life falls so you can appreciate the rises.  And so it is with some relationships.  Your time may not be spent holding hands skipping through a field of green grass, and in some moments it may be hard to remember how the relationship began in the first place.  

But having a one-sided relationship can teach you how to listen.  

Being in a relationship with someone who takes advantage can teach you what it really means to give.
  

It's important to have these wrong relationships that can teach you important lessons about personal strength, patience and resilience.  

Just my two cents.

-JKP