picking paths

so i haven't written in a while mostly because i've been so busy living. my family is WAY louder than i remembered, way more insane, and very awesome. sometimes, though, it gets to be a bit much. in the words of my friend steve, "they should make a movie of your family. i would pay to see that movie, but it wouldn't be the kind of movie i would want to OWN."

i haven't updated in a long time, so this post will be a jumble of random scraps from my life, all tossed together in hopes of reacquainting everyone with something of naomi.

i took this picture ^^^ a few days ago, and it's a significant one. it's symbolic of a lot of questions i've been turning over in my mind. the paths i have before me are completely different, and i want to go both ways at once. i've been discovering the truth of my younger brother's frustrated and grammatically disturbed verdict of yesterday: "there just isn't enough me's!"

God was so faithful this last semester. it was the hardest semester for me so far, pesonally, academically, emotionally... it was so. difficult. but God is so good, more good than i deserve, and grades came back, and i won! 3.55 is mostly a gpa i am not ashamed to own. and i am happy.

i leave for costa rica on sunday, and i've been reading up on the country. one of the things i've learned is that costa rica is the central american country with the worst child prostitution problem. about three thousand kids between the ages of 9 and 17 are on the streets of san jose on any given day. my first response was, "oh, that's sick and twisted and terrible; what a great story!" i am properly chagrined. the journalist is coming out. but it really is a terribly wonderful story, and samantha and i mean to get it. and not just for the sake of "getting a good story." it's not a well-known fact. all the information i found was from united nations reports and human rights watch bulletins. it makes me upset that i didn't find this information sooner. all the glossy advertisements for the country merely serve to emphasize the anaesthetized view of reality held by most americans.

that's pretty much all i have to say right now. just a little to tell you all what is on my mind.

and of course, i've been picture-taking with abandon. a few from the last week or so:
my little sister amy: barney meets texas chainsaw massacre
amy and i: the nice thing about shadow pictures is that you don't have to worry about blinking.cheating the nose/spoon relationshipa new favorite picture. i've gotten really into doing portrait-type photos lately.another.

yay for people who live on the coast. that up there is the pier, last night.
and yay for palm trees. i miss these when i'm in virginia.


and especially yay for naomis who irritate their friends because they live their lives from photo to photo.