Lessons at 19

19

​When I consider how far I’ve come since this time last year I am blown away. Time is a curious thing...I was on a completely different path when I was 18 turning 19. This year has been full of new experiences and I have pushed myself beyond my comfort zone in so many ways. I’m a full time student, I am represented by an art gallery, and I am endlessly working on creating stories and paintings.

My year is book ended by experiences and achievements. I celebrated my 19th birthday by camping at the beach and ended my year exploring London.

Each day I have worked on developing my voice, honing my passions, and living my life with authenticity.

As I reflect on this past revolution around the sun and my teenage years collectively I’ve been experiencing a lot of mixed feelings. While I know that each day I am getting closer to the core of what my life is made of, I also feel apprehensive about embarking on this second decade of my life.

Today I am sharing a few lessons I have learned at 19 along with 19 photos from this year.

Enjoy.

October 2017 - Ale in Coronado on my 19th birthday

#1: It’s okay to realize you’ve outgrown your home. You can’t wait around somewhere thinking everyone else will too. You have to make your own decisions because distance is just an excuse, you still share the same planet...you can only be so far from someone.
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November 2017 - Emerson and me photographed by Lexie

#2: It takes time to figure out how to be yourself.
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November 2017 - Antique store in Julian, CA photographed by Sky

December 2017 - Sleepover at Claire's watching Broad City and eating Phish Food Ben and Jerry's

#3: Collect wisdom from everywhere...even watching how plants sway in the wind or how ants work together can teach us infinite lessons...so choose to learn from people and an environment that is actively willing to teach you.
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January 2018 - Polaroid at succulent cafe with Lexie, Phoenix, Sasha, and Kiva

January 2018 - Film photography, photographed by Noëlle

#4: No relationships are needed besides your own relationship with yourself.
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February 2018 - Dexie at Hosp Park in Carlsbad with Junie

#5: You can’t always be in bloom.
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March 2018 - Belmont Park with Sasha

#6: You’re not really “you” without exterior influences. You can’t actually exist as the person you are at your core without the elements which exist outside of yourself and shape you. So maybe nobody is their own person but just a culmination of all the things, people, and experiences that shape their identity. You’re just stardust and water.
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April 2018 - Walking Acer and Arthur near the magic house with Kiva

April 2018 - Sasha and me at Swami's beach

April 2018 - My large watercolor painting, "So Close, Yet So Far Out"

#7: I live my life for love and follow love wherever I can find it...in tubes of brightly saturated paint, in cerulean skies seen through a kaleidoscope of tree tops on the farm, in kisses under a sky full of stars against a denim blue beetle. Without moments like these what is anyone really living for?? It’s the little things like playing with golden retriever puppies, wacky sunglasses, and music that fits your current mood. It’s old friends and new loves...and a constant desire and effort to learn, grow, and stay in a positive creative energy feed with good friends.
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May 2018 - Eating donuts at the beach with Emerson, Thomas, and Lexie

#8: The sky very well might be the most beautiful thing on our planet. And there is sky within us...within everything.
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June 2018 - In Encinitas photographed by Katie

July 2018 - Swami's beach with Katie

August 2018 - At The Met photographed by Katie

August 2018 - Outside of The New School

#9: Self-love is being unapologetically oneself. It’s an agreement with yourself to wake up with the intention to treat yourself with respect and to indulge in the simple things that provide you with purpose, fulfillment, and happiness.
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September 2018 - La Jolla Cove

#10: Love is the most fluid thing there is.
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October 2018 - Yayoi Kusama exhibit in London with Claire photographed by my mom

October 2018 - Yayoi Kusama exhibit in London

© Annie Fay Meitchik. All Rights Reserved. All content on anniefay.com is my own or credit is given when applicable, please do not use any of my images before contacting me above or @ anniefaymeitchik@gmail.com.