I received my first diary when I was around 9 years old. It was white with red borders, had an illustration of a teddy-bear, and a lock that could be picked with a bobby pin. But the engraved name plate on the front made me feel so incredibly special. I was smitten... here was a place to record my ever-so-important thoughts and share my incredible stories. And so I made my first entry ever... about how annoying and immature my brother was being. So, while my stories (especially when that young) weren't exactly thought-provoking works of art, it's still incredibly neat for me to go back and READ these entries. These words give me a piece of MYSELF back... they remind me who I was, where I've been, and how far I've come.

I've kept diaries off and on ever since that time, and I continue to do so to this day. This year I've found the perfect way to combine images + words together, to capture my story even better.

Project 365 (+1).

Known as Project 365, it's simply a decision to take one image each day of the year. (And since we're in a leap year... there's an extra +1.) I've always wanted to do this... to add daily imagery to my words, but it always seemed like such a huge undertaking. Till now.

With the help of my iPhone camera, instagram and blipfoto, I've decided to journal my year in a whole new way. Here is MY collection so far: