Continuation of my 365 Self Portrait project (month 7)

I don’t even know how to start this month… after the craziness that was my March, this month felt like a relief. I really want people to know some real life stories about myself. I looked back on my Facebook and my Instagram lately and realized that to some it may seem like my life is really pretty and awesome all the time. I assure you, it is not. Yes I do travel for work a lot, and yes that can be really super cool, yes I have a lovely daughter and, family and friends and a boyfriend that I love. But I promise you, my car looks like I live in it, my house gets messy really fast, traveling is fun but oh so exhausting, and most days I am go, go, go non stop until I crash into bed after doing one million things at once all day long. I want to admit that busy does not mean cool. I will say that I am nothing but grateful for all the good things in my life, but half the time I feel like a crazy person, scraping by and doing the best I can for me and my daughter every day.

So here it goes, things I have learned/reconfirmed this month.

1. I absolutely love listening to audio books, learning things that give me new and awesome perspectives on life and people is the best thing ever. Whenever I have a second of free time I am learning. Here is a short list of some amazing books that I think everyone should listen to. 1.The power of Vulnerability –Brene Brown– 2. Big Magic –Elizabeth Gilbert– 3. Outliers –Malcom Gladwell 4. The Happiness Advantage – Shawn Achor–
2. Dont’ take advice too often. Listen to people then decide what you want to do. Everyone has the “best advice” to give you, and listening to your own voice is much stronger then what anyone has to say.
3. Self awareness and admitting things that you need to change is so healthy and fantastic. Often I feel so scared to admit that there are things in my life I could do better, or that need to be improved. But when I do, and when I reach out to people and confide in them, things just make more sense, and I can sort through them in a way that feels so good and productive.
4. Every single year in April I freak out a little bit about taxes, booking enough jobs, keeping my business sustainable enough to make it through winter and all the way to the next wedding season. I’m sure most self employed people/wedding photographers can relate to this struggle. And every year I remind myself over and over again, that I can and will make it through, and every year I do! But it’s funny how stressful it can be until you are over that hump and wedding season starts again.
5. I reconfirmed that food and eating with people are two of the most important things to me in life! I spent two full days this month with a group of people I have never met, eating, drinking and talking about life, love and food and it was two of the best days I have ever had. I got the pleasure of attending the 10th annual Terroir Symposium and it was one of the most wonderful experiences in my life. I hope that it gets to be a yearly event for me, and one that I can not just attend but contribute to and be a big part of! You can see my photos of these two days here!