Looking Back.
Happy New Year, everyone! I know, I know, I'm a little late, but I'm here now and that's all that matters. After the 31st, I took a few days off life. I basically turned my phone off and shut off communication with the outside world for a few days. I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I don't mind being busy, I like it. I also like my alone time and over the last few months, that took a serious backseat. I wanted to clean and reorganize my house. I wanted to sit on my couch and play Red Dead Redemption. I wanted to go for walks and listen to Podcasts and not be interrupted. It was pretty magical. With the official "work year" starting tomorrow, I figured it was time to kick off the "creative year" as well. Looking back on last year, it wasn't great for me photographically. I travelled, led my own "big ticket" workshop up north (there are still spots in the 2019 workshop available), and helped with The Chronicles of Namibia 2018. I shot weddings, did commercial work, and got a few personal creative projects done as well. I don't feel that I advanced, however. I know I took some great photos, I'm not saying otherwise, but I don't feel I really grew creatively. Looking back, I'm alright with that. Where I did grow, however, was through many of the more personal aspects of my life. I started off this year not out of love with photography, but feeling beaten down by it. I was making photography a chore when I wasn't shooting; seeing a nice sunset and cursing myself for not grabbing my camera when reading on the couch was much more pleasurable. There will be other sunsets. I didn't post as much on my photography-related social media accounts. Towards the end of the year, I avoided it altogether. I didn't like the pressure I was putting on myself to find a picture and make a post when who really cares? Social media was giving me anxiety, and for what? In hindsight, not staying current might not be the best business move but that's what 2019 is for. I spent a lot of this year working on the idea that instead of getting upset or down on the things I hadn't done, I forced myself to start looking instead at the things I HAD done. I set a goal to read 50 books in 2018. I failed. I did read 23 books, which is 21 more than I would have read the previous year. My goal for 2019 is now a much more realistic 25 books. I started off 2018 with this new blog platform, which I intended to update every week. That didn't happen, but I did make it 15 out of 52! Baby steps. I think I am better equipped to handle creating goals if I am able to look at all the things I am doing to work towards those goals as opposed to wondering why I haven't achieved them yet. If you looked at all the things you do in a day (ok, ok, some days we make exceptions) you'd be surprised as to how many things you've done. It's ok for life to get busy sometimes. It may be frustrating to not always be working on the things we want to, but life does happen and things need to be taken care of. I took this year for me. Above all else, it's more than okay to take time for yourself when you are feeling overwhelmed. The "hustle 24/7 lifestyle" doesn't score you any points with me. I'm all for hard work and ambition, but not at the cost of my mental health. In closing, I'd just like to thank everyone who has stuck around all these years, and for the new people, welcome! I really appreciate all the kind words, encouragement, and support I receive from you all. I'll avoid the clichés of what I'm going to make of 2019, but I feel really confident and inspired about some of the things I have planned. Much love! Read the full article
