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Sara Esdena

@saraesdena

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Life, I love you.
Photographer ◦ Rambler ◦ Writer
@saraesdenastudio

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(Pt 1) At the end of September, I packed up my car and headed northwest with a loose itinerary, a lot of curiosity, and the hope that somewhere between the mountains and the sea, I’d find a piece of what I’ve been looking for.

The idea behind my two-week, 3,000-mile solo road trip was simple: to pay attention to what I was drawn to. And while I’m not typically one to gamble with the universe, I found myself asking for a sign.

The sign was literal. A billboard along the highway that read, “Find your happy place.” taken in On The Road by @saraesdena

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2 days ago

(Pt 2) “Happy place” is what I’ve been calling this next, still-undetermined chapter of my life. And although I initially scoffed at the universe’s rather obvious sense of humor, I realized that’s exactly what I found.

Biking underneath old-growth Ponderosa pines, sitting silently beneath Sitka spruce in one of the quietest places in the US, circumnavigating an island in a sea kayak, standing at the edge of the ocean with a swell of tears in my eyes. All these moments, in all these unfamiliar places, feeling so much at home.

What a privilege it is to be able to question, find, and feel. In awe of it all. by @saraesdena

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2 days ago

Hello from the Oregon Coast. ✨ taken in Oregon Coast by @saraesdena

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11 days ago

Summer of 2026.

Summer of late nights.
Summer of loving my friends and making new ones.
Summer of being spun around in circles.
Summer of driving around in them, too.
Summer of sitting on bar floors petting dogs.
Summer of dinners out with the garden girls.
Summer of watching sunsets from my front porch.
Summer of the crash.
Summer of making mistakes.
Summer of piecing it all together.
Summer of putting myself out there.
Summer of finally doing it.
Summer of trying things for the first time.
Summer of hoping some things never end.
Summer of music.
Summer of dancing.
Summer of just being silly.
Summer of Bear Is Out.
Summer of sleeping under the stars.
Summer of saying yes.
Summer of changing my mind.
Summer of choosing no.
Summer of taking pictures of everything.
Summer of finding my way back to myself.
Summer of happy.
Summer of being moved.
Summer of becoming moveable.
Summer of being so, so alive. taken in Colorado by @saraesdena

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21 days ago

Life has been so sweet and silly lately. I feel like I’m in my 20s again, exploring what it means to be alive. Some days I wake up in a forest by the creek after a solo trip, or in the back of my car after a night out, or in my bed that I’m continually learning how to reclaim. The calm and the chaos and the world that exists somewhere between the two.

Time moves between taking photos, planning a new future, dancing with strangers, and laughing with my friends until we all fall down. There is a me-sized space I hadn’t been filling for so long. It feels so good to recognize myself again. It feels so good to fall again. To fill that space and find myself on the floor in a puddle of joy or tears or both. I’ve been putting in so much work, and I’m finally starting to see what it’s given me.

I just wanted to say thank you. To the forests and the friends and to myself. Life is what you make it, and I’m grateful for the list of ingredients in mine right now. For the strange, beautiful recipe they’ve made. How nourishing it all is! taken in Salida, Colorado by @saraesdena

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a month ago

“Sometimes gaining and losing are more intimately related than we like to think.” Sometimes I share my thoughts and feelings on the World Wide Web. Substack link in bio if you enjoy reading my rambles. Happy September!

📸: @william.harkcom by @saraesdena

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2 months ago

I was just asked plainly: are you happy? I answered, 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮. The counter-question being: what even is happiness? A transient state, really. In the best way possible. Here are some glimpses of what I think it means, as it all flows and goes. ✨ by @saraesdena

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2 months ago

Dreaming of waking up in this magical place again. So soon. taken in Oregon Coast by @saraesdena

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2 months ago

Been drivin’ up the same dirt road around this time every summer to celebrate my Colorado-versary. Eight years in the Centennial State, six in the Arkansas River Valley. Camped along the creek and fireweed, treated myself to the ultimate Girl Dinner, and devoured a few chapters of The Field Guide to Getting Lost—an especially apropos book to be turning the pages of right now.

“𝙏𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛: 𝙖 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮. 𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮.”

Here’s to being lost, found, and the liminal space in between! taken in Salida, Colorado by @saraesdena

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3 months ago

Pretty good, not bad, can’t complain. by @saraesdena

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4 months ago

“That’s how summer is: no past or future but all present tense.” -Islands, the Universe, Home

📸: @jm_pollack taken in Salida, Colorado by @saraesdena

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4 months ago

Postcards from the Road, Pt. II

Went South for a few weeks. Colorado, Utah, Arizona. Goin’ home can be as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking, yet rooted in heart all the same. Finding versions of it in people, places, and pages and capturing bits of it in photos to share. taken in On The Road by @saraesdena

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5 months ago