The half eaten cookie, and other lessons: Virginia Wedding Photographer

Usually most Sundays I make chocolate chip cookies.  The kids love it and let’s face it, warm chocolate cookies with milk are simply delicious.  It’s become a tradition so much so that if I’m not feeling like making chocolate chip cookies, the kids really give me a hard time and so I always relent.  Last night before I went to bed, I turned off the kitchen light and what do you know?  Sitting on the cookie rack was this one chocolate chip cookie with a bite taken out of it.  There are a few things you should know about me, pet peeves if you will.  I really don’t like orange juice that’s got a few sips left put back in the fridge, or an empty cereal box put back int he cupboard, or a single bite taken out of a cookie and just placed back with the rest of the cookies.  These things don’t really matter but for some reason, they just kind of bug me.

Maybe because it was late and I was tired but I started to wonder why that person (ahem, ALEXIS I KNOW IT WAS YOU!) only took one bite out of the cookie?  I realized in that moment that so many of us, in a metaphorical sense, often only take one bite out of our life’s cookies.  I asked Alexis this morning why she didn’t eat the whole cookie.  She said she was afraid too because she already had a lot and she didn’t want to eat all the cookies.  How many of us out there are afraid to eat our cookies; and what I really mean is, how many of us are afraid to follow our dreams and go all in?

When I sit back and look at my journey into photography, I could have just done a little bit here and there and it probably would have been okay, but because I didn’t let fear become my resting place, I was able to delve into photography 100% and man has it tasted good!  I don’t regret for one second making that decision and pushing forward.  And it’s not only because I love photography as an art form but it’s because this work (if I can call it that) is so much more than taking photos.  Through this journey I have met the most inspiring and wonderful people that have impacted my life whom I probably would not have known had it not been for this work.  My clients have truly been the biggest benefit to what I do.  There are families that I get to work with on a continual basis and it brings me so much joy to capture their joy in the form of new births, new loves, lifelong commitments being made, milestones being passed, and so much more.

Over the weekend I was fortunate to connect with several clients but one of these clients I have had the privilege of seeing every four months to document the first year of their daughter’s life.  I truly feel invested in them and their future as a family because we have this great connection and to see the change in their little girl from birth to now is amazing!  I drove out of D.C. and thought to myself, I would have missed all of these moments and connections had I chosen to not pursue my passion.

So here’s the thing, I think if you have something you are passionate about, don’t let fear hold you back.  Don’t wait for that perfect moment to pursue your dreams because there will never be that perfect moment and dreams don’t just happen, you have to make them happen through faith, hardwork, and optimism.  Henry Ford said: “One of the greatest discoveries a person makes, one of their great surprises, is to find they can do what they were afraid they couldn’t do.”

Today is as good a day as any other.  Do something that will bring you closer to your goals, to your passion, to your life’s greatest work.  Don’t let thoughts of doubt and fear have a place in your mind, because success does not keep company with them.  I am so grateful for this job I have and for the wonderful people I have met and continue to meet.  Thank you to everyone for supporting me and giving me encouragement.  Truly you are why I do what I do.