Meet Kailin Richardson! {Young Creatives}
You guys, I am so excited to be officially starting this new, weekly section of the blog that is going to be intently focused on YOU! With the Young Creatives section, we want to highlight who you are, what you love, and what inspires you! What better way to build community than to share our hearts with each other and learn? On that note, today, meet Kailin Richardson – a sweet Delight girl from Illinois!
PC: our own, sweet Lisa Heegaard!
Who are you?
My name is Kailin Richardson and I’m sixteen (and a half, if you want to be specific). I live in Aurora, Illinois with my parents, four siblings, and one cat who I adore. Generally speaking, my favorite things are books, movies, chocolate, the color blue…And Jesus of course.
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would it be?
My favorite question! New Zealand. I’m a die hard nerdy fan of Lord of the Rings and it’s my number one dream to go tour there someday (Honeymoon, yes?). For those of you that don’t know, Lord of the Rings was filmed in NZ. Besides, it’s a gorgeous country. Who wouldn’t want to visit???
What do you do/ What’s your creative passion?
I’m a photographer. I actually love a lot of different arts, and I sing, but my biggest artistic area would be photography. I’ve got a small business that I’ve been building for a little over a year, called KReation Photography cause K and R are my initials. Clever, right? That would be my older brother’s idea. Who knew. If you want to check out my website/blog, here it is: www.kreationphotographs.wordpress.com
Three words to describe yourself?
Passionate, stubborn, and hardworking. I suppose those all work together in some ways. I stand by my beliefs and opinions and don’t budge. And the things and people I love, I really, really love.
How did you discover your creative passion?
Accidentally, really. I laid down on the beach and was blinded by the sun but snapped a picture on ground level of the sand and water with the oldest, tiniest Canon camera ever. It turned out well, I posted it on Google+, and everyone liked it. It went from there. And the picture isn’t even good, guys. But needless to say, I’m still a Canon user. I just upgraded a bit.
What is your favorite part about what you do?
Freezing memories. I hate change. Can’t stand it. That’s why I love pictures – cause you get to look back on a moment and it’s there, forever and ever. And you get to capture it in its most beautiful form. It’s a privelege, really.
What is one piece of advice you wished you’d been given five years ago?
Hmmm…Probably to appreciate people more and take every opportunity you can get. I’m pretty comfortable usually staying in one spot and doing the easier thing. But when you realize that experiences with people are worth your time, it becomes easier and easier to be pushed outside of your comfort zone.
What is the hardest thing you’ve gone through and how have you grown from it?
I think last year was the hardest for me because there was a lot of change and I really truly don’t function well when that comes into the picture. My grandparents moved, friends went to college, and my brother had a year left until he went to college, too. It sounds trivial, and it probably was, but it was really hard for me. I guess I’ve learned that when that happens, you have to move with the change. Don’t let people leave you behind in the dust – instead, move forward and do new things yourself. That’s something that’s really helped me this year.
Who is your biggest inspiration and why? What have they taught you and how has it made an impact?
Well, I had a friend who was about two years older than me that I used to meet with every once and a while. I didn’t know her super well but we loved each other bunches. She was so passionate, not only about life and people, but about Christ. She had the most beautiful soul and I wish I was more like her. Honestly, I think one of the biggest things she’s shown me is that life is beautiful, so live it to the fullest and live it for Christ. I haven’t talked to her in a long time, but I’ve been learning a lot about getting outside of yourself and just doing something – kinda like what I said in some of the previous questions. She was one of the people who first taught me that.
Favorite Bible Verse?
Zephaniah 3:17 – The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
It was one of those verses that stunned me the first time I read it two years ago and it’s just shows how personal our relationship with Christ is.
Check out Kailin’s work at: KReation Photography!
xoxo,
Micaela
