This has been a year of growth.
A year of discovery.
A year of tremendous love.
I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on how I have come to stand where I am and how my actions and dispositions directly affect my life. This is what I have come to know.
Spend time doing what makes your soul sing.
I’m talking the little things, big things, and all things in between. Feel like dancing around the kitchen and singing out of key? It’s what I do best. Immerse yourself in as much as possible. Find out what it is you love and selfishly pursue it. Be authentic and honest about the life you want to lead and fight with all you have and then a little more to get there.
Your self-worth is not determined by social media.
It is so easy to get caught up and lost behind a computer screen or phone that we forget that there is a world out there waiting to be explored and people who deserve our full attention. Our “likes” or “followers” on social media will never define our worth. This was so hard to grasp, and something I still struggle with as a wedding photographer who often relies on social media as a marketing tool. Thankfully, it has been one of my biggest takeaways after multiple wedding seasons. The wedding day will come and go, but the relationships with the people closest to you will last forever. My couples understand the value of those relationships and know that just like them, I am building those very same relationships with those around me by being intentionally present during the time I get to spend with them.
Live intentionally
This has been my motto for the year, and something I will never lose sight of. Too often we get wrapped up in everyday life, we go with the flow and don’t think about the options. There is always another appointment to be met, another bill to be paid, another uneventful day to be noted (or forgotten). Time gets away from us all and we lose track of the things that really need our attention. We grow complacent with ideas, or things or people and we take them for granted. Be intentional about the choices you make, the people you surround yourself with, and place focus on what is important. Always do with purpose.
“Guard your time fiercely. Be generous with it, but we intentional about it.”
-David Duchemin
Keep Faith
Be grateful for all that you have and continually strive for all that you want. Embrace the struggle in between. Those are the moments that help define who you are. Keep Faith. Life is rarely exactly the way we want it to be. Moment to moment, there are aspects of life that we like and others that we don’t. There are always going to be people who disagree with you, people who do things different, and things that don’t work out. If you fight against this fact of life, you’ll spend most of your life fighting battles.
Never settle
Not for a career, for friendship, for life and most importantly, love. If there is something you really want, fight for it. Don’t give up no matter how hopeless it seems, and when you’re on the verge of losing hope ask yourself this… 10 years from now are you going to wish you gave it just one more shot? You can have everything you want in life. It takes timing, the right heart, great action, tremendous passion and a willingness to risk it all.
I think it’s safe to say, 26 is going to be my best year yet.
Oh! and Happy National Puppy Day =)
PC: Krista Jones
Rebecca Wilcher Photography
Samantha Jay Photography
Josiah & Steph Photography
Brigalias wedding photos