Mother's Day | Stafford, VA
One last grandma hug before going to Germany!
In honor of Mother's Day, I present to you my inaugural blog post! I've been trying to think of a really special "first blog post" and I've been putting way too much importance on the subject matter rather than just being brave and writing from the heart. My mom has ALWAYS been my number one supporter in life. She attended every sporting event, band concert, parade, drama play, and everything else I took part in growing up. My sisters are I were extremely active growing up and had something going on every single day of the week. My mom was a busy woman to say the least! She should have had her own letter jacket for all of the things we involved her in.
One of the things I appreciate most about my mom is that she always believes in me. I've never been scared to try something for fear of failing. The two most prevalent "rules" in our house were: 1) Family comes first. 2) Always do your best. It did not matter if I was not successful at something or wasn't THE BEST as long as I did MY best. That has something that has stuck with me my entire life. In today's world, it is so easy to compare myself to other people and feel inadequate in some way, but I know that God gave me my own unique set of talents and abilities and I don't have to be like anyone else. I put everything I have into the things I choose to do in life and at the end of the day, I'm proud of my accomplishments because I know I did my best. I love that I can say my mom taught me how to do that.
I've only quit one thing in life and I was more upset to have to tell my parents that I was quitting than in making the decision to give up something that my heart just wasn't fully committed to. I thought my parents would be disappointed in me, but they were both so supportive and said that if I had done my best and wasn't happy then it was time to move on and do something else. Three years later, I have a beautiful daughter whom I wouldn't trade a single moment for and I'm living in Europe. How awesome is that?! As cliche as the saying is, "everything happens for a reason."
I've had the dream of starting a photography business for quite awhile, but I put it on the back burner because I didn't feel like I was up to par to be a professional yet. I wanted to be proud of the work I was doing and know that I was providing great pictures. I worked every single day researching and practicing my craft and you know what? My pictures started getting better! A very wise Sharon Hundley told me that as photographers, we will always work to get better and will constantly seek self improvement and for me not to compare myself to other photographers. I took that to heart. When I mentioned the idea of starting a photography business to my family, I got a resounding YOU CAN DO IT! Having love and encouragement is so very uplifting and I'm so blessed to have people in my life who believe in me.
So here I am world, pouring my heart into my camera in hopes of capturing beautiful life moments for people to cherish forever. If you know anything about me at all, you know I fly by the seat of my pants a lot and often end up in situations where I have to take a big leap of faith and just dive into something. I know every picture I take won't be perfect, but it will be my best. I'm so happy and excited to be able to have this opportunity and share my pictures with all of you. Thank you mom for giving me the courage to try new things and for allowing me to follow you around with my camera every time you do anything with your granddaughter knowing how much you hate having your picture taken! I LOVE YOU, MOM!!
“Have a not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”