The air is starting to get chilly, the leaves quintessentially sum up autumn in North Carolina, the golden sun sets early, and high school football is coming to a close. For this session, I got to photograph one of our senior cheer captains in the beautiful and historic downtown Durham. For Northern High senior, Bianca Decatur, her year is rushing by! She is such a brilliant, intelligent, independent, and inhibition-free young woman with so much life ahead of her! And I have absolutely no doubt that she will take the bull by the horns (haha, corny Bull City pun intended!) and rule this world like the strong-willed and cheerful soul that she is! This Durham girl isn't afraid of anything! Bianca, it was great to spend time with you outside of our cheer practices and hear about your dreams and aspirations! Enjoy the rest of your senior year as it'll fly by faster than you'll ever imagine!

Enjoy all this time you have left! And let your momma love on you all she wants :)! Best of luck, Bianca!

Let's just say, I'm so amazed at all the strength, determination, and friendship that exists between these kids from Cypress Dojo in Gainseville, Florida! This past weekend, I went to Atlanta to watch my best friend since I was 3, Kaylyn Kraus, test for her black belt in Cuong Nhu, an oriental martial art style. Cypress dojo had 4 people testing for their black belt, Kaylyn, Alex, Tom, and Jesus, and all four passed (woot woot!). Now, this is no easy test. My body was falling apart just watching them, and it's just a breeze for them to break through 3-4 wooden boards with their elbow. You know, they are super ninjas, or more formally, senseis! In addition, I met some wonderful people from the Cypress Dojo & am excited to finally put a face to all the people Kaylyn talks of constantly! They are truly a huge family of awesome people! Congratulations, y'all--go on to great things!