TRY SOMETHING NEW

it feels so good to have found (yet another thing) i enjoy doing so much.

i am really LOVING photography!

 this is so true. i have an amazing friend that kept telling me over and over and over again that i needed to get a camera. that i needed to do something with design. that i needed to get into the wedding industry. i came up with excuse after excuse after excuse that i wouldn't be good. that i didn't have time. that i had other priorities and on and on and on and on and on. thankfully this friend didn't give up. we would have conversation after conversation about just what this quote said. about taking risks and working hard and just trying.

and so i did. i bought a camera and something happened. i fell in love again. (i have a lot of loves!)

i am a firm believer in trying new things (even though it scares me). in exploring undiscovered loves and talents. you never ever know if you are going to love something until you try it and you will never know if you can potentially be good at something until you put in the time and face your fears and step out of your comfort zone and just do it. i was scared to get into photography for a lot of different reasons, one of which was the fact that it would require that i get out of my comfort zone and approach people and meet people and advertise myself (i have a hard time with all of these things). in fact, they really really scare me, but from this instance as well as countless others i have learned that the risk is worth it.

i have learned that there are so many reasons we have for not doing things and most of the time they aren't very legitimate. often times we are fearful of failure or not being good. (that is one of my biggest fears), but i have learned that you don't have to be perfect the first time or EVER. it is a learning experience and every time after that is too. you get better every time, or you don't, and you just enjoy doing it.  also we are often worried about making a fool of ourselves or embarrassing ourselves if what we are doing involves other people. i had (and still have) this fear about photography. this would require that i approach people and offer them something that i wasn't and still am not completely comfortable doing yet. this was and is hard for me, but each time has gotten better and better and better and i don't think the people minded at all. they were patient and kind and we had fun together.

this shoot was one of those shoots. when i first moved here i saw this girl and knew immediately i wanted to take pictures of her. i didn't know her, we had never met (we had mutual friends) and so i found her on facebook and sent her a message saying that i was a photographer just starting out and i wanted to take pictures of her and it probably was a little creepy, but if she would be willing i would really appreciate it.

she didn't get my message (thank you facebook "others" folder!) and so i thought, "did she get it and just think i was crazy?" time passed. eventually we were at a mutual get together and i approached her awkwardly and told her i was the one that sent the message to her (she looked at me confused). come to find out, she didn't get it, i asked her in person if she wanted to do a portrait session with me, she consented. we had a great day and became friends.

i was so scared to talk to her and to send that message, but nothing bad came from it, in fact so much good came from it! i mean look at her! this was so much fun!

i still have fears, in fact i have tons, but i know that they are usually worth facing.

great things happen when you try new things and as cliche as it is "you only live once" and life has SO many things to offer. try them, find new loves and ENJOY your time.

try something new this week and let me know how it goes. anything.

what are other things in your life you have done that you were scared to do at the beginning, but the outcome was way worth the risk? 

this doesn't have to be a huge thing. it can be as simple as trying a new recipe.

i remember the first time i made a particular tiramisu recipe and it required that you make a Sabayon (an egg based italian dessert where you slowly cook eggs over a double boiler while constantly whisking). i was scared i would ruin it! (lots of people have on chopped!) but i tried and you know what? that tiramisu may have been on of the best things i have ever tasted! it was worth it!