August 2019

Happiness Over Acceptance

Written by Alyssa Lopez

Acceptance, for many, is feeling welcomed and having a sense of belonging. Happiness is something most of us seek in order to make us feel whole. Worrying about how someone chooses to perceive who we are can have a major impact on us. The constant notion of being judged by people and trying to be accepted can, perhaps, lead us to downplay our selves, ultimately dwindling our own happiness. The question we should ask ourselves is
do we want to be accepted or be happy?

“In the past, I always felt like people would judge me, and it was not for anything specific. I have stopped myself from going through with certain situations because I didn’t think I was good enough,” says health science student, Jessie Braganca.

For many, having a feeling of your ear ringing as your name drops from mouth to mouth; the belief of being the mistake; or even the light laugh as you pass strangers can spark self-doubt. This feeling can activate fear – fueling inner thoughts to cloud our minds, causing discouragement.

This discouragement can cause fear of saying the wrong thing and feeling misplaced. “I feel confident with myself, but I have had strangers comment about how ‘big’ I am straight to my face. I am not going to lie and say it doesn’t hurt. Comments like that stay with me,” says health science student, Emma Mckibben.

Instead of allowing the self-doubt to grow within you try to diminish that feeling. There are going to be imperfect days where internal conflicts or criticism will challenge your self-view. In that moment of weakness know that it is okay to not be okay. Take that weakness, learn from it, do not let it define or defeat you, and know you are not alone. Wake up in the morning telling yourself and believing that it will be a good day. Learn to laugh at mistakes, to look in the mirror and know you are beautiful, enough, and to never hold back. Happiness is a state of mind and you have the power to control it. Your own well-being should always overpass wanting to be accepted and aiming to be beatific. Love over hate. Heart over mind. Confidence over fear. Happiness over acceptance.

Mckibben says, “at the end of the day it is just you, so go through life knowing that you are living for yourself and no one else”.

Photo Story: Horseback Rider

Photos and Text by Justine Lockhart

The heat has already started to peak, but to Anika Lockhart it doesn’t matter. Even as the sweat rolls down her face, she keeps riding, pushing herself, and her horse, onward. Lockhart has been riding horses since she was a child but she didn’t get back into it until 2013. “I’ve always loved horse since I can remember,” Lockhart said.

After picking up her old hobby, she began training for shows. Lockhart rides dressage, a type of horseback riding in which the rider makes the horse perform choreographed movements. Horse and rider have to be in tune with one another to be successful, but Lockhart believes that she and her horse, Bentley, have developed a special relationship. “You have to work in harmony with the horse,” Lockhart said. “You have to work with them and build up a relationship where they want to work and they actually enjoy it.”

Lockhart’s love for horses has not been dulled since childhood, and she plans to keep riding for as long as she can. “It’s a very relaxing but also challenging activity,” Lockhart said. “I love everything about it.”

Lockhart leaves the barn after several hours at AEC.
Lockhart strokes Bentley, She has owned him for three years.
Lockhart watches another rider work with her horse, Ronan.
Lockhart chides Frodo after he tries to snack on grass on the way from the pasture to the tack stalls.
Mary Mobley, right, gives riding advice to Lockhart, left. Lockhart often rides Mobley’s horses, Frodo and Star.
Lockhart picks up her horse’s hooves. Especially after rainy days, the horse’s hooves are muddy and need to be cleaned.
Lockhart gives Bentley a bath after their workout.
After a long ride, Lockhart takes off her sweaty helmet.
Lockhart, who rides dressage, works on her lead changes with Frodo in AEC’s indoor arena
Anika Lockhart, 36-years-old, warms up her horse, Bentley, before a ride at the Austin Equestrian Center.

Photo Story: Yellow Bike Project

Photo and Text by Antonio Cueto Gonzalez

It started as a garage project in 1997. The idea was to release fixed-up yellow bicycles around town for anyone who needed free and convenient transportation. Twenty-two years later, Austin’s Yellow Bike Project has evolved into a story of success that has earned the non-profit organization its iconic place in the city’s celebrated culture. The Yellow Bike Project is a 501c(3) non-profit organization with a simple yet ambitious mission: to get people on bikes in Austin.

Austin’s Yellow Bike Project volunteer, Dawn Horton, examines the tightness of bicycle wheel spokes by using a turning stand. May 2, 2019.
A customer and a volunteer coordinator, who double-duties as a shop clerk, inspect a restored bike one last time before taking it home. Austin, Texas. April 25, 2019.
A volunteer scrambles through an assortment of hardware and pieces, looking for a pair of matching handlebar mirrors. Austin, Texas. May 9, 2019.
Volunteer, Stephen Piyor, struggles to find where to put a misplaced airhorn among the crates full of strayed bicycle accessories. Austin, Texas. May 9, 2019.
Volunteer coordinator Rob Greenfield teaches volunteer Kalina Guerra, 8-years-old, how to use a wheel turning stand. Austin, Texas. April 25, 2019.
Enrique Mejarada works on his earn-a-bike, using a chain tool to attach links to fit correctly. Austin, Texas, May 2, 2019.
A customer of the Yellow Bike Project searches for a replacement for his wheels among repurposed rims. Austin, Texas. April 25, 2019.
New sprockets are added to a cogset by a coordinator who teaches a volunteer how to repair a freewheel cluster. Austin, Texas. May 9, 2019.
Volunteer Garrett Man raises his hand to call for a coordinator’s assistance; Juan Padilla unseats a tire bead from its rim. Austin, Texas. May 9, 2019
Volunteers, workshop attendants and coordinators work in their respective bike stands at the Yellow Bike Project during open workshop hours on a Thursday eventing. Austin, Texas. April 25 , 2019.