Matthew Jordan Smith's "Scrapbook"

Everyone wants to write a book, but very few people have the discipline to stick with it and so often the idea of your own book becomes a pipe dream.  Matthew Jordan Smith had an idea and after almost two years of work, his book, Future American President, is out on the shelves and destined to be a classic. 

While the images are all his, the words in the book are everybody else's and maybe that's what makes it so wonderful. This is a book about dreams, kid's dreams. The premise is simple to understand, kids from every state answering the question, "What would you do if you were president?" The result is a stunning display of expression, hope, smiles and simply their aspirations.

There are three journeys everyone takes when they write a book. The first is figuring out how to turn the dream into reality and it can take years. The second is the creation itself, which can also take years. The third, is the journey Matthew's on right now and it's the most rewarding. It's like having a baby and then watching your child grow. It's the most exciting time of any book project.  With each image and each moment of feedback, you're able to go back to the steps of the two previous journeys and realize how worth it all the work was.

I've been following the project from the very beginning, even talking with Matthew the night before he launched the Kickstarter campaign and it just seemed fun to compile some of the images about the book to share with you here. I pulled them at random, just to give you a feel for this part of Matthew's journey. 

Check it out in more detail and then order your own copy just to add to your photographic collection or better yet, it's the perfect gift for one of your kids or grandchildren.

And, to Matthew...congrats buddy! You're making us all proud!