This is my first journal entry and in the past few days I have done more browsing of dA photographs, sketches, and thumbnails than I have in my entire time here I would imagine. With my recent obsession for photography, I have immersed myself in finding inspiration from many of the wonderful talents that find refuge here at dA.

Being an amateur photographer, I am receiving my first DSLR for Christmas, and I believe it is a Nikon D70... an entry level camera, but a huge step up from a Kodak EasyShare digital camera. It is funny because, for my entire life throughout school, I had never expressed such a strong passion for art let alone photography until high school. From this observation, I have drawn the conclusion that art is something one appreciates with maturity, for as your thoughts deepen, so does your appreciation for depth in message.

I hope to become a regular here, and not just a face, but a face with a personality, but not necessarily a name. I don't want to be known for what I do, but for why I do it. That is my personality in a nutshell... I like the attention, but not because I like it, for why I obtained it in the first place.

Any whom, that is enough of my intellectual musings. Here is a little bit about myself for anyone who chances upon this entry.

1) My name is Luke and I am 15 years old. I turn 16 in February. The current date is December 7th, 2008, so if you are reading this in February 2009, then this information is out-dated .

2) My hobbies include everything art that does not include the direct use of my hands which tend to not listen to my thoughts, for they are clumsy. This is why I envy music, photography, and digital arts, for the tools of the trade do not include your hands directly.

3) I am a very unique personality in the world of teenagers. If you are reading this and ooh-ing at a teenager who uses both capitalization and punctuation, then know that even in instant messengers I type like this. I just figured I would shoot that out since it seems to intimidate people at first. In IM'ing, however, I love to say "lol" and use smilies!

4) I value my schooling, despite my constant outlook of careers changing so effortlessly. I can never pinpoint a true passion that I would like to pursue post-high school. I fall in love with things too easily, such as photography.

5) I adore movies and find messages and value in most movies that I see, therefore I do not have a favorite. For a long while, Grease was, however, at the top of the list of movies for me to watch.

6) I am generally a very friendly person and I try to be very empathetic when dealing with real-life issues and hardships. If you ever need an ear to listen, then by all means, use mine for that purpose. It doesn't take a toll and there's always a booth open.

7) I treasure friendship as one of the most superior forces on the Earth, for it can conjure every emotion from every person, and then some.

8) I type and write too much.