Different by myautofocuslife

Different

Ben Harper: "You're definitely a different person at different stages in your life."

And, right now, I'm at that stage in my life where I feel it's okay to be different. When I was younger, all I wanted to be was to be like everyone else. To fit in. The expectations I felt compelled to meet were at odds with the things my heart wanted me to do. I had thought, foolishly, that it was easier to be accepted and loved if I met other people's expectations first. The struggle was constant. It took me a ridiculously long time to realize that it's okay to be different, it's okay to fall short of other people's expectations, it's okay to be myself. I will always be grateful to The Husband who, from the outset, accepted me for who I am and not for what I could become or what I should become. He didn't and doesn't try to change me in any way. With him, I feel no guilt about being me. I think, in a lot of ways, he set me free. Free, to be different.

(Too emo? 8D )

ETA: Not selective coloring, just different colored crystal beads. 8)
Cool shot and selective color! Great story too, and not too emo :)
March 17th, 2012  
@grizzlysghost No selective coloring was used. Just different colored crystal beads. 8)
March 17th, 2012  
Well, that is different! :)
March 17th, 2012  
Great picture, the clarity of the blue gem perfectly illustrates what you say. I think it mostly takes us until we get older to be clear about things in lots of ways. Great hubby you have there.
March 17th, 2012  
Love the picture - beautiful light and depth. As for the text: not too emo - similar experience here and I liked how well you described it :-).
March 17th, 2012  
Beautiful tribute to your husband! Love the blue gem. :-)
March 17th, 2012  
Great capture. Fits with Ben Harper (whom I'm a fan) and what your feeling. I've had the opposite struggle. I've always been different. When people said go left, I'd climb a ladder. Just to see what was above. I've lived most of my life in chaos, and unpredictability. But I'm always being pushed to fit in, to gather with the status quo. And I've never gave in. But now with my children, I've had to alittle. So they'd see a sense of normality. Hard for me, but its all about them now. Glad you stretched out, and allowed yourself to be free. Only get one chance in this world, maybe two. Have to enjoy it as much as we can. (Now I'm too emo. Sorry about that)
March 17th, 2012  
Fantastic shot! Love the blue! I think that there are quite a lot of people who feel the same as you, I like how you describe it!
March 17th, 2012  
The power of the pen (or keyboard in this case I suppose) is very worthwhile; definitely not too emotional. All that aside this is a lovely shot, love the focus.
March 17th, 2012  
Great shot and great use of selective color. I love reading about you finding your way and finding your husband! Wonderful!
March 17th, 2012  
Really cool & very creative!!
March 17th, 2012  
we were the opposites. i was different from 'them' and didn't dare to make an effort to fit in and they hated me for that. made only very few friends but kept a handful till this day. that said, love the perspective of this. if that was green or purple you could call it the summerfield bead. or not. great shot, as always.
March 17th, 2012  
Beautiful focus and color~ (you have a great husband, me too)
March 17th, 2012  
very pretty and artful.
March 17th, 2012  
The composition, tones, and what the narrative/meaning behind the shot is makes it very special!
March 17th, 2012  
Beautiful focus! love the lighting!
March 17th, 2012  
Tread them makes the necklace. Of... the whole is more then the some of it parts. Wonder how it looks as a necklace. Love the way you capture them . The pov and bokeh. And , if every one was the seen the world was boring
March 17th, 2012  
I see you are focused with great photos!!!
March 17th, 2012  
beautiful focused shot
March 17th, 2012  
very neat photo indeed.. I totally agree about being your different self...
March 17th, 2012  
This photo illustrates your words so well... Fav for me! The simplicity is awesome!
March 17th, 2012  
great shot and great title!
March 17th, 2012  
Rob
Great shot! I Really liked the narrative and can relate
March 17th, 2012  
Great photo full of symbolism and I loved reading your story.
March 17th, 2012  
Great commentary. Awesome focus
March 17th, 2012  
Great photo and story! Same hereiLivia. Always grateful for the way Hubby loved me and accepted me for who I am and not for who I will or should become. We must have done something right to be blessed this way ... ;)
March 17th, 2012  
yes it's ok to be different, imagine if we were all the same ,what a boring world this would be, just like the bead in your pic, it's definitely OK.
March 18th, 2012  
Great shot and colors...
March 18th, 2012  
Very cool shot
March 18th, 2012  
An amazing focus, stunning shot, love it!
March 18th, 2012  
Cool shot and I relate very much to your words. Lucky you to find such a good man...
March 18th, 2012  
Nope, I love your words!
March 18th, 2012  
nice dof!
March 18th, 2012  
Love the shot and concept here. Nicely done.
March 18th, 2012  
Your words are so true! Great shot to go with the words.
March 18th, 2012  
Never too emo...You have a way with words, Olivia. This is the perfect photo to go with your words I also like listening to Ben Harper!
March 18th, 2012  
Beautiful composition! Yes, be different, Livia! I really like who you are, too! You do stand out in a crowd.
March 18th, 2012  
ohh, that quote is soooo true! your photo goes perfectly with the quote....love it!
March 18th, 2012  
Awesome shot and words! You come up with the best shots that definitely show your individuality!
March 18th, 2012  
BEautifully done, Livia! Love the selective shot! =)
March 18th, 2012  
cool shot..and yes it does take a certain point in your life to feel comfortable in your own skin..I am so grateful to be there!
March 18th, 2012  
What a great shot, Livia. Love what you wrote also, we all should be comfortable in our own skin and accepted for who we are or move on and have others in our life who do accept us for us and who we can be ourselves around.
March 18th, 2012  
Great shot and I love the analogy.
March 18th, 2012  
Great shot - and very true words ...... why try to blend in when you were born to stand out!
March 18th, 2012  
Great shot
March 18th, 2012  
Swarovski crystal I suspect ? Love your blurb and am so happy for you that you found someone you feel comfortable with enough to completely be yourself. My husband is the same. Lovely capture to represent your story.
March 18th, 2012  
Mel
Very nicely done, I like it a lot
March 18th, 2012  
Great shot and commentary. Your a winner because you like Ben Harper. At first I thought it was SC but you are much to clever.
March 18th, 2012  
Wonderful. I'm glad you've reached the point that you don't mind being different xx
March 18th, 2012  
So true! Well said. A beautiful shot, great clarity and DOF, and perfect for your theme. :)
March 18th, 2012  
being different is good. it puts colour into the world.
March 18th, 2012  
Great colour! I like the blue reflection in the nearby beads :)
March 18th, 2012  
Great photo and writing Livia. I think your story would resonate with a lot of people. Lucky we are not all the same. I look forward to your photos and see what you have to say.
March 18th, 2012  
great composition Livia!
March 18th, 2012  
gorgeous shot
March 18th, 2012  
Well said!! Lovely shot!!
March 18th, 2012  
Be different! Well taken!
March 18th, 2012  
Very creative! so love the composition Livia it goes well with your words :D
March 18th, 2012  
Great shot!! Different is good, sometimes it is good to snad out from the crowd :)
March 18th, 2012  
Just love this!......Different is to stand out from the crowd!.....lovely capture! ; )
March 18th, 2012  
Great use of focus as a compositional tool
March 18th, 2012  
nice one
March 18th, 2012  
Your wonderful captures are a testament to the individual that you are Livia, I love your comments as much as this capture! You really do wonderful images...!
March 18th, 2012  
Beautiful photo. You can see how blue reflects in surrounding gray ones. Kind of like in real life. :)
March 18th, 2012  
Eh, fitting in is over-rated. And boring. And herd-like. Moo. (My take on it, lol) Perfect photo to illustrate that!
March 18th, 2012  
ah, true, different but yet sometimes i still feel like i am 15! most times i feel older than my years, thanks to my dogs....:(
March 18th, 2012  
Love the image and the story. Beautiful!
March 18th, 2012  
Love the shot, love the blurb. I can totally relate! I just hope that my daughter doesn't have the same struggles!
March 18th, 2012  
love this one - your writing and the photo
March 19th, 2012  
Great shot and story. It's a shame that we can't figure out at an earlier age that different is perfectly wonderful!
March 19th, 2012  
Love the story, and feel myself drawn to the blue! Nice focus.
March 19th, 2012  
Nice detail... and I love the spot of blue!
March 19th, 2012  
Great DOF and composition. Fav!
March 19th, 2012  
A great, big, colorful, slightly odd, differently flavored, out-of-the-blue "THANK YOU!" to all!

Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. Thank you for your kindness. I'm really glad that I'm not alone in my experience, I'm happy to know that even though we are all from different spots on the planet, we still have a lot in common in terms of needs, emotions and aspirations.

Again, thank you!
March 19th, 2012  
great focus and love how the blue glows!
March 19th, 2012  
Great shot, great story. I love the DOF and blue coloured bead.
March 19th, 2012  
great focus and shot love the blue!
March 19th, 2012  
Great shot, love the colours and the focus!
March 19th, 2012  
Sweet words :). Lovely, sharp focus and DOF. Great shot!!
March 20th, 2012  
you are amazing at shooting small objects!
March 20th, 2012  
Beautiful shot and commentary! Its good to be different, thank you for sharing your experience, I can relate!
March 21st, 2012  
Very nice concept and follow-through. Love the color and focus.
March 21st, 2012  
Lovely focus and SC!
March 22nd, 2012  
Great photo! Very clever idea! :) Well done!
March 22nd, 2012  
Last in a long list of people to say what a great photo, and it suits your words perfectly (or vise verse). Not sure why I missed these photos of yours in my feed - sometimes that happens. Love this, and your passport photo too.
March 22nd, 2012  
lovely! stand out and be different! why not?
March 24th, 2012  
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