You {yes...YOU} are invited to join in on a fun, inspirational twenty-twelve photo project......
Late last year I was talking to a mourning co-worker. She was telling me that she had attended a 16 year old girl's {a family friends of hers} funeral the day before. The girl that had died was physically beautiful, a talented athlete, attended a well known private school, came from a respectable family, had lots of adoring friends and seemed happy & confident. But at just 16, she took her own life. She was obviously secretly battling her own dark demons & heavily struggling her way through this lifetime. The best option she saw in dealing with her emotions.....was to give up, to not be here anymore! That breaks my heart! I'm almost tearing up just thinking about the bottled up pain she was hiding and now the heartbreak & regret her parents must be living with on a daily basis.
And this is just one case. Teenage depression & suicide is on the up at scarily fast rates! The amount of teenagers turning to drugs, alcohol, self harm & even suicide in today's society is increasing yearly.
Thinking about this, gave me an idea.....a little idea.....for a little project....a simple way to reach some of those hurting teenagers......because we all know how hard it is, going through those prickly teen years!!!! I won't lie & say that I had a horrible teenage experience, because I didn't. But, it wasn't all unicorns & rainbows either. I got jinxed with acne, a bit of a podge shape, confidence issues & a lot of self doubt. Thank goodness I had family & friends & a bright future in front of me to help me grow through anything & everything.....and come out the other side bigger, better, more grateful, full of life experiences & a heart exploding with love. But, I know, not everyone is that lucky to come out the other side....!
Ok.....onto the project that's on hand here.....and I hope YOU will participate.
If you could give your teenage self a message, what would it be?
Simply answer that question & email it me. However, this is a "PHOTO PROJECT", so the catch is:::: your message must be a JPEG. You can be as simple or as creative as you desire. You can add your message as a text box over a photo you've taken, you can write the message down & photograph it, you can scrapbook it, collage it, craft it, write it in the sand, sew it....whatever.....c'mon let your creative juices flow.
How will you present your message to your teenage self?
You do not need to be a professional photographer {hell, we all know I'm far from one.....I'm simply a Mum who has an unhealthy addiction to taking photos....lots of photos lol}. However, if you are a photographer, blogger, business owner etc....feel free to watermark your image & message; for credit back to YOU!!
Here's a few quick examples I put together......
Your message can be as cosmetic, humorous, serious or as deep as you wish! It can even be your favourite famous quote!!! But be honest, be true to YOU! I'd love both women & men of all different ages to participate.
Your photos {must be appropriate for web content} can be of anything! Or if you're not a fan of your own photography, why not draw, paint, collage then scan & save as a jpeg! Got an idea?.....GO FOR IT!!!
Once you've written your message, added it to an image, watermarked it {if you wish}, email it to me: clairechadwickproject {@} gmail.com and I will be putting all of the photos into a YOUTUBE slideshow/video as well as a PDF DOWNLOADABLE eBOOK which will be available as a FREE download off my website when complete. I will also need YOUR NAME, CURRENT AGE, & OCCUPATION {and business/blog/website address if you have one}; which I can use at the end on a 'credits page'.
This video & PDF book of PURE INSPIRATION will be online for anyone & everyone to view but I will also send it to & share it with as many high schools, teenage resource companies etc.....and I ask you to do the same! Share it, spread the word.....let's see how many teens we can get to view this!!!!
I hope you will participate. I am accepting images for this project starting 1st Feb 2012 until the 18th of March 2012.....just over 6 weeks to submit your message & image!
And please, especially all you bloggers out there....SPREAD THE WORD. Get your readers to join in too. We'll make more than one video & eBook if we need to :) Share it on Facebook, tweet it, blog about it, send carrier pigeons if you can......C'Mon....help me spread the positivety here :)
And here's a few blog/website buttons that you can use:
And I ask that you link the buttons, shout outs & posts to this post you're reading now, at this link:
http://blog.scissorspaperrockdesigns.com.au/read-our-blog/2012/1/31/2012-photo-project-a-message-to-teenage-me.html
Make sure you're a follower of my blog to keep up with updates & launch dates, or join my FACEBOOK page to be updated.
You've got 6 weeks......ENJOY!!!!
It is a 'project', and similar to ones that I'm sure have been done before.....but I want you to have fun with it.....and do it with passion, knowing that maybe we can reach out to some hurting, confused teens out there!
THANK YOU!
“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.” {Karen Ravn}
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 12:44PM 
