This is ME: Re-branded

As I continue to share stories of others through my lens I am slowly sharing my own...

" What a beautiful thing it is, to be able to stand tall and say,
"I fell apart, and I survived." "

A few weeks ago, on my birthday, I did a thing.
(A very spontaneous thing... which is not like me when it comes to something so permanent).

I got a new tattoo!
Me!
1. Someone who, at first didn't even like tattoos.
2. Then, I liked them but only for other people, not for me.
3. Until... I got one and said it would only be one.
4. Now there I was getting another!

This made me realize that I have done this with life.
1. At first, I judged before I really made up my own mind...
2. Then, I have allowed the space for others but never for myself.
3. Until, I allowed myself to fall a little bit in and open myself up.
4. Now, I am learning there are no shoulds or shouldn'ts or them and me.
There is Me and what is right for me.
And there is everyone and what is right for each of us - and it's all an open ended canvas where things can be done all kinds of ways.

It has taken my world falling apart for me to learn these things and to allow for the changes in me.
I am working on coming back to stand tall and say that I did fall apart but I also survived... and this is me.

The tattoo that I got was a reminder to myself to:
"let what you ❤️ save you."

My camera and my passion for photography have gotten me through a lot of the 'falling apart' the last few years.
It has always been my own.
I can always find beauty around me and get lost in it.
I can just create and live in that world for a bit when I needed to escape mine.
Using my vision to give a smile to others has always fueled my passion and kept me going.
And following the endless possibilities that photography has to offer for me has always given me drive and excitement.
And this tattoo was a reminder to hold on to all of that and keep going.

To make it even more special, my oldest daughter had drawn the camera with the heart lens for me awhile back and when she handed it to me back then I knew just what I wanted to do with it.

Soooo
I did a thing and I got a new tattoo.
And I am finally ready to share it .

Let what you ❤️ save you 📸