This past Saturday I welcomed in a new family member: my Canon EOS Rebel T6 DSLR camera. There are no words to describe how happy and excited I am to finally have a professional camera of my own. Over the past few years, I developed the hobby of photography. Where ever I went a picture was always taken. It was not only to commemorate the experience, but to capture the essence of the world around me. Looking through the lens of a camera opened my eyes to little details in life that I would otherwise overlook. This got me to thinking about how this thought is relevant to my life and the lives of everyone else. How often do we look at life and not notice the little details that make up the whole?

Going back to looking physically, photography was a way to calm my restless soul. Sometimes getting the right shot requires you to be extremely still physically and mentally. All of your energy is focused into the shot making sure that it is angled perfectly and the timing is just right. As a result of all your energy being focused into the shot the thoughts causing your anxiety fades. For little snippets of time the anxiety is subsided, and the little snippets of time build up the longer you decide to shoot. By the time you're done, what was once hindering you is now gone and replaced with the beautiful things you shot. Photography is a beautiful art form and is often overlooked.

As I mentioned before, seeing through a new lens allows you to see the things you would normally overlook or take for granted. Learning to see and actually seeing the world for all that it has to offer is so important. Once you start training yourself to see the beauty in everything, you'll soon realize that your out look on life improves as well as how you feel daily. I've learned and know from experience that it really is the smallest things in life that can bring the biggest smile to your face. If you have an Instagram account I would encourage you to take a few minutes and search what the #beautyinthecommons has to offer. What are other people seeing as beautiful? What do you see as beautiful? Do we as a collective society even know what beauty is anymore?

In literature class, we have been groomed to look at a certain reading through different lens. Each one utilized, reveals a different side to the whole and gives us the perspective we need to fully see and understand it. Next time you go out side, try it out. Look through the lens of natural beauty, architectural beauty, or human interaction. What small and beautiful things do you notice? Whether you're looking through a camera lens or life's lens, getting a new perspective is important, and can ultimately help change your outlook on life in every aspect for the positive.