Welcome!

My name is Amber and I love taking photos and hearing people's stories and dreams. I had this idea to have real people share their stories, and dreams to help encourage and inspire other readers in pursuing their own. These may include stories that took place many years ago. They may be a story from today. It may be a one-time dream or goal reached, or a life-long journey lived out today. I believe God has placed dreams inside each of our hearts-- both big and small. Whether or not you are living out your dream right now or it feels unattainable, I hope these stories encourage, inspire, and awaken new hope inside of you.

That being said, if you would like to submit a story from your life to share, please head over to my Contact page or follow the link here . If you would prefer to have your name not shared, please specify this in your submission! Your story does not have to be a "rags to riches" kind of story, but should convey some element of inspiration, encouragement or hope to other readers. Some examples to think about might be:

• Is there someone who has been inspirational in my life that has encouraged me in pursuing my own dreams?
  
• Did I set a goal for myself to become a doctor, work hard, and am now in the field seeing the reward and joy of helping others come true?
• Did I grow up in the foster care system jumping from house to house, family to family? Did I ever find a person or people to call family?
  
• Am I a refugee in a foreign nation I have to adjust to and survive in? What have I overcome to get to where I am today and what are my hopes and dreams for my future?
• Did I train and go from not running at all to running a marathon?
• Do I love taking care of others? Is this something always in my focus in life? What is a story from a time I have taken care of someone in my life?

I hope these examples have helped you think of a story to share! Please include in your submission who the story is about, and what happened or is happening in your life now (feel free to be raw and detailed.) When and where did your story take place, or where is it currently happening? Why is this important or why is this something you want to share with the world? Finally, how can your story be encouraging, or hopeful to those struggling with the realities of life verses the possibilities? Feel free to change names, or include a more generalized location in your submission to protect privacy. for yourself. 

Nobody's life is a perfect fairy tale, no matter what social media portrays-- we all carry baggage. The stories shared here aren't meant to highlight a false reality of perfect people who have their lives all together, but rather to encourage one another through our determination, hard work, and struggle as well as our reliance on our friends, family, strangers, and God.

Please keep your submissions between 400-800 words.