Being Different.

(I know this picture is HIDEOUS, but I put it up, in case any of my high school or college friends are reading. This is called the "Pretty Face" and I break it out anytime I don't have anything funny to say, but I still want to entertain people. Obviously there is nothing pretty about it!)

I have many fond memories of my high school years and when I think back to that time in my life, overall, I am happy about how things went. However, when I look back, there is one thing I would change - one thing I really regret - and that was my deep and real need to be the SAME as everyone around me. I went to a high school where we all wore uniforms, but even with little selection, I would find a way to follow the lead of everyone around me, finding out where they bought their khaki pants or oxford shirt, because I felt I needed to look JUST like them.

Now that I'm twenty-something, I am so thankful that I've grown enough to know that I don't want to be like ANYONE else! I want to be me! I am silly, zainy, loud, driven, obnoxious, and emotional and that is OKAY. :) Yes, new people are often scared of me, but I've never met a stranger and I'm surrounded by the best friends in the world. I am blessed. Even the ridiculous things about me that I used to loathe, I now embrace. I've never been so secure in my life.

Lately I've been thinking about how my desire to be different effects my photography. I remember when my business first started taking off, I felt like I needed to know the right lens, the right website, the right amount of saturation, the right angles, the right exposures, the right everything that would produce a good picture. I wanted to look at someone else's pictures and figure out the magical formula to make my pictures look like their's. While this time was short-lived, it was so NOT me and I just despise that I ever felt like I needed to do that. The moment I figured out that I could just be ME in my photography, nothing but great things came along! I never look at someone's work and ask myself how I can make mine look like their style. Now I appreciate others' work and am thankful that our styles are different. I shoot with the freedom to capture a moment through MY eyes without a mental set of rules to follow to achieve someone else's look.

I know this probably seems like a bunch of rambling, but I guess I hope that this has a lesson for all of us:

- Don't waste time trying to fit into a mold that wasn't made for you. Be you - and rest comfortably and securely in being true to yourself. :)

This applies to brides planning their own weddings, photographers finding their own style, regular people trying to find success in their careers, high-schoolers trying to find their place amongst their peers. Being the same is never worth the hard work it requires and it will leave you feeling empty and without foundation. You were made for more than that! :)

Love,
SC