Tuesday 22 October 2013

What started it all

I suppose I haven't quite mentioned how I came up with this project, so here it is.
 
I am a frequent blogger, photography lover, and workaholic.
Now this being said, I always felt like life had given me so much and I wanted to do something to give back.
 
Coming up with an idea got me lost in my own thoughts on numerous occasions. I saw PostSecret, I loved it. I saw Humans of New York, loved that one too. I knew that I needed to find something that related to my passion, photography. I figured something would come up eventually or someone would mention something that might just "stick" but it didn't.
 
When I gave up looking for something, I ended up finding it. Murphy's Law I suppose right?
I stumbled upon a blog one day, that would change the way I saw life forever.
 
I found this. Follow the link and you will see Lauren's Blog.
Lauren was 25 years old when she was told she would have to face her own mortality. She had an incurable heart disease that would change the rest of her life indefinitely. I followed Lauren's story on her blogs (yes she has 2) and I was so inspired that a girl who had been told she had a disease that would eventually end her life, had so much motivation and determination to leave her mark. So I continued to follow along. Through countless posts about the hundred of pills she had to take, to uplifting posts about her getting accepted to art school, I was there following.
 
Lauren did get accepted to art school, and she started her own project called "100 Heartbeats"
She made small medallions that read "My heart beats in these streets" and she glued them in her favorite places (coffee shops, benches in parks, favorite restaurants etc.) Her goal was to place 100 of these medallions in the streets of NYC, in hopes that by doing this her heart may remember the good times and heal itself seeing as modern medicine really had nothing to offer.
 
Lauren made it to day 93 of her project before passing away earlier this year. My project is a continuation of hers. My hope is that with your help I can gather 10,000 photos of people holding a heart with something they love written on it to raise awareness for heart disease. I plan to publish a book similar to PostSecret when I have enough photos and donate the proceeds to foundations supporting heart disease.
 
Thank you for taking the time to check out the blog here, I will be posting photos as soon as I receive them.
 
This is for you Lauren although I never met you, you left a mark on my life.
Rest in Peace
 
 
If anyone is interested in reading Laurens other blog you can find it here

Thursday 17 October 2013

Heartbeat #17

 
Heartbeat #17

"Mission Beach #14"

Heartbeat #16


Heartbeat #16

"Mabel Lake B.C."

Heartbeat #15

 
Heartbeat #15

"At the swimming hole"

Heartbeat #14

 
Heartbeat #14

"The Point & Feather"
(where she met the love of her life)

Heartbeat #13

 
Heartbeat #13

"@ Home"

Heartbeat #12

 
Heartbeat #12

"01.09.14"
The bride-to-be's wedding date!

Heartbeat #11


Heartbeat #11

"New York City"



Heartbeat #10


Heartbeat #10

"My lil sis Alexis" - Stevie



Hearbeat #9

 
 
Heartbeat # 9

"With Mommy" - Sayge

Heartbeat #8

 
Heartbeat #8

"My heart belongs to anyone that rescues animals"

Heartbeat #7


Heartbeat # 7

"My heart belongs to Ford Racing Freaks"

For all you die had car fanatics!

Heartbeat #6

 
Heartbeat #6

"My heart belongs to my Grandma"

Heartbeat #5


Heartbeat #5

"My heart belongs to the world"

For those with a traveling heart

Heartbeat #4


Heartbeat #4
 
"Avast! Yar! Find it if you dare"

Heartbeat #3


 
Heartbeat #3

"I'm leaving my heart to Tiffany & Co"
 
....So I can share it over and over again....

Heartbeat #2

Heartbeat #2


 "1997-2004"

Sometimes its a period of time where your heart truly belongs.

Heartbeat #1


Heartbeat #1

My dad was kind enough to do the first one!

"I'm gonna leave my heart to whoever needs it! (Just as soon as I'm done with it! It's a good one)"


This is how he feels about his heart, where would you leave yours?


How to do a heartbeat

I created Heartbeats in the Streets to raise awareness for heart disease and create inspiration for people all over the world.
 
My mission is to collect 10,000 heartbeats and publish them for everyone to see. I find that it's uplifting to see where others would leave their heart.
 
 
To be part of this really isn't anything hard to timely. All I ask is that you make a heart, write where you would leave it, and submit your photo. I will post the photos on here as well as the facebook page so people can see. By submitting the photo you are giving me consent to publish it.
 
Ideas of what to write:
Your favorite place (old cabin, 1st home, place you traveled to, etc)
A time frame (maybe there was a period in time when you just loved life for what it is)
A person/animal (Someone special to you, or someone you maybe admire, etc)
 
Realistically, you can write anything you like. Check back frequently to see what others put!
If you would like to leave your heart anonymous (no photo of you) simply include a photo of the heart alone.
 
My hope is that I will be able to gather enough hearts to publish a book at some point and use the proceeds to donate to heart disease. All I'm asking for is a photo, the rest I will make happen. I appreciate you visiting this blog and I hope to see your heart submitted soon!
 
If you could leave your heart somewhere, where would you leave it?
 


Wednesday 16 October 2013

Welcome

My name is Jessica and I created this page to motivate and enrich the lives of people all over the world. I have been inspired by a girl named Lauren Z. I want her story to be heard and my hopes are to finish her project as well as create a movement. My ultimate goal is to capture 10,000 photos of people with captions detailing where they too would put their heart.

Lauren's Story:
My heart failed at 25 years old and left me no choice but to face my own mortality: would I be forgotten? What was I leaving behind? This is a 100 day journey to the special places where I've lived my life from childhood, pre-heart condition, through the scary times, and up to present day. I want to leave behind a piece of me, my mark, in each of these 100 locations. My secret hope is that in re-visiting amazing moments and places in time my heart will recognize the authentic joy and remember what it’s like to live. Maybe this pure energy will start a party for my cells and nurture my heart in ways medicine has not been able to"

Lauren made it to day 93 of her project, let's keep it going in remembrance of her. This is for you Lauren.