A Little Backstory (Part 1)
Hey, I’m Katlyn, but you can call me Kate! Welcome to my blog, Thoughts Behind The Camera. I wanted to start off by introducing myself! I’ll keep this short and to the point. Well, I’ll try!
I am 20 years old with the burning desire to be a stay-at-home mama and full-time photographer. I married my high school sweetheart in August of 2018, which was the BEST decision of my life. We now have two precious fur babes, Coos and Winston. You can find us riding atvs on the Oregon Coast dunes, or chilling at home watching The Last Kingdom or Hell On Wheels. I am 100% addicted to coffee, honestly I don’t think I could function without it. Something I fully believe in, is that my childhood and the way I was raised is what shaped me into the woman I am now.
My life was far from normal. I like to initially explain it as this: I lived in an unfinished house, with sheets for walls, no heat or running water, an extension cord with a lamp, and tons of bugs. Oh, and a pet bat named Bob. Okay, the pet name is just a joke, but there really was a bat in my room.
Let me explain. In 2006 my family's house burnt, unfortunately not all the way to the ground (this would have made complicated things much easier). Ironically, water started this fire. The water pipe that came into the laundry room burst and started flooding the house. My mom, who was fortunately the only one home, frantically turned the water off (I would have done the EXACT same thing). Little did she know, the water had sprayed the electrical panel. Which lit on fire after the water was shut off. Not only did the water initially start the fire, it was also keeping it from sparking. I know, it's confusing, and my poor mother had no idea.
We were fortunate enough to have friends with a rental house, which we lived at until my amazing dad could fix the burnt house into a temporary living situation. Temporary meaning it had sheet rocked walls with a toilet, shower, sink, fridge, and a camping trailer hitched up 5 feet in the air which became a family bedroom. That’s right. All 4 of us - my mom, dad, sister, and myself, all lived in the same trailer. For a while we all shared the same bed! Your mind might be wandering to, “omg they were like… Laura Ingalls Wilder.” YUP! Parents- can you even imagine sharing a bed with your children who are in kindergarten and second grade? Just think about that one for a minute..
As we lived in this situation, my parents decided to take this horrible life event and turn it into something good. We have to remember, God works in mysterious ways. Well, they had always wanted to build their dream house. And what better time to start building your dream than when your home burns? Might as well jump on this hidden blessing, am I right?! Well, as lovely as this dream seemed. It was not easy. It took a lot of work, a lot of money. A lot of stress, blood, tears, and time.
Eventually we realized this was not going to be as temporary as we thought. So, my dad made a “play room” which we eventually attached to the rest of the fixed up part of the burnt house and turned into a bedroom for my sister and I to share. Which sounds totally amazing! But, let’s just say, my little sister and I were NOT the best of friends. As a kid, and I suppose as an adult too, I was very headstrong. My mind was set on “moving out” into our unfinished home. There was a roof, exterior walls, and windows. I would be fine, it would be like camping, it would be better than fighting with my sister day and night. It took some, okay a lot of, convincing. But, my parents finally agreed. Little did I know, they never thought I would actually last out there - they assumed I would get scared or cold and come running back. But, like I said, I was very headstrong.
I lived out there from my freshman year of high school in 2014 until I got married in 2018. There were nights that I showered after basketball practice and would go to bed with wet hair. When I woke up, it was frozen. I slept in tons of layers and lots of blankets during the winter months. I was completely afraid of the dark and would RUN to my room praying I would make it safe from whatever I thought was out there. Then, in the summertime, I had to get extremely creative with ways to cool my room down. Sometimes I would even sleep with ice packs and switch them out through the night. As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures!
And yet, if I had the chance to go back and change my mind… I wouldn’t. I would still choose to live that life - freezing/burning with the bugs and Bob the bat.