I was recently reading a novel that described the way of life of the violet sea snail.
Stay with me here, I promise it’s relevant.
You see, the violet sea snail survives by floating around the ocean. Snails don’t float so, this smarty pants mollusk constructs a raft. The snail blows a bunch of bubbles, scoops them all up in one divine collection, and forms a raft. If it loses its raft it risks sinking and dying. It is quite literally a life raft.
Those who know me personally or have followed the path of my career for a while know that I wasn’t always doing the work I’m doing today. My entrepreneurial journey started out in the world of wedding photography, and for a decade that’s what I did. I recently decided to make the ultra tough decision to walk away from that business. You can read my farewell letter here.
The decision to walk away from something that had been such a massive part of my life was tricky not because I couldn’t decide if it was the right thing to do. On the contrary, I felt a strong sense of peace about the decision, and it actually felt good to be able turn away leads and send these brides and grooms over to some of my amazingly talented photographer friends. The choice was hard because it felt like I was leaving an important piece of myself behind.
I feared that without the seasonally steady stream of couples coming through my door on their journey toward wedded bliss, that photography, something I am so greatly passionate about, would disappear from my radar. Without my wedding clientele, I’d have no excuse to keep going, and no real reason to grant myself the title, “Photographer” anymore.
I spent a lot of time reflecting before I made a formal and public proclamation of where things are headed for me and my biz, and what I found in that thought process reminded me of a John Steinbeck quote I heard: “Nothing good gets away.”
It’s true right? When it comes to life and our experiences and who we are, we pack up and take each phase before with us onto the next thing. We never truly say goodbye to anything fully. Once it’s there pressed upon our hearts, little pieces of it will always be there, and we can decide how much of it we want to keep carrying with us depending on how heavy we decide it feels. Heartache and anxiety? Bleh, maybe leave that one on the curb. Nostalgia and wisdom? I’ve got room for those, I’ll bring them with me.
Photography is a big part of my life raft. It calms me when stressed, provides a creative outlet like nothing I’ve ever experienced, and provides a warm sense of connection to people that design simply never will for me.
So that’s why this site is here. To remind me that I can be more than one thing at a time. That if something keeps me floating, it’s worth keeping around. That I don’t need to worry so much about titles and having a perfectly organized personal brand. That I have permission to be whoever I need to be today.
If this is your first time here, welcome to my life raft; my personal hodge dodge of bubbles collected on my way. I hope you’ll stick around and ride out the tide with me.