First of all, I've never been very good at blogging. But I am promising myself that this time it will be different. I'm a big believer in the idea that we have to have a constant faith in ourselves...a belief that we can still change, that we can develop new habits, and that we can grow into newer versions of who we are and who we want to be with each new day. It's an incredibly human thing, to believe in hope and possibility, and such a faith is what fuels my story at the moment. Wow, and just like that, I've started this blog like an awkward first date sharing too much too soon...oh well!
Second, today is Friday, but unlike any other Friday, today is the first day of a brand new chapter. Today marks the first day of my future career as a creative entrepreneur, as a full-time artist, as a freelance photographer. I've been looking forward to this day for over a year now, but I would be lying if I didn't say I've also been terrified of it actually becoming a reality. As a current grad student and former (as of yesterday at 5:00pm...) student affairs professional in higher education, I'm familiar with the common, daunting questions individuals face when discerning a full-time creative lifestyle as a career path... At the heart of it all, is this big fear of whether or not success is truly attainable on this path. But perhaps I can make it easier on myself by immediately defining what I mean by success, as I begin to chase it - I'm defining my success as simply being able to live a comfortable lifestyle wherever the location, to be able to seize any creative opportunities that come my way, to be able to travel often and meet new people, and ultimately to be able to earn a living that enables me to marry the lady of my dreams and embody the husband/father figure Ty Burrell from Modern Family has inspired me to become. (ladies and gentlemen...Phil Dunphy)
Lastly, to bring this long-winded, pretty typical rant of mine, to the point: I want to share stories with you. I want to use this platform as a relationship to share with you the many stories behind some of my favorite photoshoots, tons of music and art that inspire me, as well as the occasional random wonders of my heart and my head. To be quite honest, I struggled with the framework of this blog for a while because the term "story" is quite the buzz right now. The act of storytelling is trendy and I'm genuinely fascinated with how it has grown in recent years. Personally, I was first introduced to the lens of story by To Write Love On Her Arms over ten years ago. I loved the way they communicated hope, love, and the importance of community through the lens of storytelling and understanding the value in one's own unique tale. Today, there is just so much talk about how to use "storytelling" to better sell a product or build better branding through this rather intimate strategy. And because stories are all "the rave" right now, I was hesitant to use the term myself in this way. But then I realized excluding the words "story" or "storytelling" in any way wouldn't be honest or genuine of me, in sharing myself with you. Understanding my life through the lens of story and being able to deeply appreciate the beauty in all of the stories around me, especially the ones I am lucky enough to photograph, is so significant to who I am. So please know that this is your formal/informal invitation into my...well, story!
I am SO excited! I am SO nervous! I need SO much more coffee! Enjoy!
-joe
photo cred: Rebecca Blue Media!