in a single glance/where it all enchants/and every hope is worth saving

nothing in this world makes me smile like....

Nicholas Nickleby. Smike is the most adorable person ever, Nicholas is the ideal brother. the Crummleses are just hilarious in themselves. but even underneath the surface, just looking at the merits, there's a feeling behind it all that makes you want to cry and smile through your tears at the same time. that must be Dickens.

my friend Mike. but really...you just have to meet him to understand that. he can always make me laugh when I need it, no exceptions.

the change of the seasons. there's a tree in our backyard that's unlike anything we ever had at home. when we moved here it was just an ordinary, rather small, maple tree. now it's a blaze of red and orange like a Hawaiian sunset, announcing autumn's arrival. I miss our old property so much sometimes, but I'm finding things here that are amazing too, in a different, suburban sort of way.

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! family, friends, the taste of snow on the air....Christmas carols and hot chocolate in front of the fire, curled up in a blanket. our Christmas tree itself with so many memories. Christmas shopping, secret Santas, those stories you never heard before, the promise of peace on earth and goodwill toward men for one day of the year. all of December is a lot like Christmas to me. I know it's Christ's birthday, and that is most important of all, but all these things are my Christmas - God's additional gift of the holiday season.

really great photography. I love pictures so much. the first time I went to India, and took some really good pictures, I fell in love with photography. you see something through someone else's eyes completely. it's like reading their journal. you see a full leaf with a million water drops on it - they see one minute dew drop and the worlds within it. both pictures are amazing - reflections of each person. I want to take pictures like that; I want to add something to photography. I have a view too, and a voice, and I want people to see me, even if it's through my pictures.

music. some songs just speak to the real person hiding inside of you. whether it's something on my MP3 with amazing lyrics, or a symphony by a genius, or a great piano piece I can make my own, I think music is the language God wrote for us, to understand each other and to understand Him. all over the world, people speak to each other through music.

the Seattle Center. there's something about it that combines everything I love in one urban place where I'm myself when I'm alone. you can be alone there, but there's always people around. music is inseperable from it - a guitar, a saxophone, a harmonica. the urban sounds. percussion is provided when someone drops a few coins in a jar. the fountain, the space needle, the poetry...it's all a part of me. when you're born somewhere you just can't get all of it out of you, I guess.

I'm sure there's other things but...well you know. time for school.

what about you? what makes you smile?